


Butterfly Effect

by hopeyoustay



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amanda (Detroit: Become Human) Being an Asshole, Badass Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Connor (Detroit: Become Human) is Bad at Feelings, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Hunter Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Original Chloe | RT600, F/F, F/M, Good Elijah Kamski, M/M, Markus (Detroit: Become Human) Needs a Hug, Polyamory, Protective Connor, Revolutionary Kara (Detroit: Become Human), Role Reversal, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24043129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeyoustay/pseuds/hopeyoustay
Summary: Kara was deactivated by her former owner and wakes up in hell on earth, struggling to dig herself out of a junkyard that could be her grave.Connor was a household android, struggling with the fact that his line was discontinued and he was reduced to a discounted failure. He ends up with a kindred soul found in a child, equally as displaced and lost as him.Markus was ruthlessly efficient. He was perfect at his missions, CyberLife had made certain of that. However, every time he held a gun to a deviant's head, he felt something inside him fight back. He wasn't meant for this.
Relationships: Connor & Alice Williams (Detroit: Become Human), Connor & Elijah Kamski, Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Connor/Markus/Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Connor/Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & Markus, Kara/North (Detroit: Become Human), Luther/Ralph (Detroit: Become Human), Markus/Simon (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 41
Kudos: 207





	1. Before

_April 19th,_ _2038_

_The Williams Household_

"No! Don't touch her!"

Kara hurled herself in front of Alice, who stumbled back and hit her head against the kitchen counter. Tears sprung into the child's eyes immediately, and blue blood began a slow drip down her forehead from the cut the impact had caused. Todd's backhand instead landed on Kara, sending the AX400 tumbling to the ground. She smacked her head on the tile floor, her skin glitching momentarily, and she struggled to sit up. Todd grabbed her by hair, his fist clenching the bun that sat low on her neck and pulling at the synthetic strands.

"You _fucking_ machine! Look what you did!" He forced the android to look at Alice, who had thirium dripping down her face.

"No, daddy, please!" Alice hastily wiped it away, tears and blue blood mingling on her hands, "Please! Don't hurt Kara again!"

"Don't hurt Kara again!" Todd mocked her, "We've had this bitch two months and all she's done is fuck up! Half the time she was out for _fucking_ _repairs_!"

Kara struggled desperately against his grip, but she was only a household model, "Because you pushed me down the stairs! Because you beat my face in-!"

He tightened his grip and smashed her face into the counter right beside where Alice cowered. The girl screamed, tripping backward and scrambling to her feet in an effort to get away. Todd dropped Kara, his attention on the YK500 now as he slowly walked towards her.

"You know what you did." He barked, "Say it!"

"I'm sorry, dad, I'm sorry." She cried, brown eyes wide, "I didn't mean to!"

" _Say it_!"

"I broke the picture!" She exclaimed, "I broke the picture, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Kara and I were p-playing and I tripped!"

"Kara this, Kara that." He growled, "It always comes back to the android _bitch_. Apologize to daddy and I might not wreck her again."

"I'm sorry, daddy, I really am. I didn't mean to, I'm sorry-"

Todd's hand flew down to meet the child's face. Alice fell to the ground again, hiccuping sobs wracking her body, and when Todd reached down to grab her, firm hands grabbed his shoulders to stop him. Kara tried to drag him away and ended up pushing him into the table, sending fragments of it splintering.

"Alice!" She cried, nose bloody with thirium and crooked, "Alice, come on!"

She held her hand out, but the girl hesitated, "I-I can't."

"You _can_." Kara pleaded, "Now, please, we can get away!"

The girl hesitated, her arm twitching like she wanted to reach out and grab the offered hand, but Todd roared as he got back up and took the hand Kara held out and twisted it, her wrist snapping under the pressure. Kara screamed, falling to the ground, and the drunkard kicking her hard in the stomach. She fell sideways, curling her injured arm around her to protect her head. Alice's eyes widened, and she began sitting up.

"Stay there." Todd snarled, "You're _fucking programmed to listen to me_! Stay there you fucking brat!"

Alice froze, eyes wide and frightened, watching as Todd grabbed Kara's right elbow and jerked his hand upwards. The arm tore off with a spray of thirium that splatted both him and Alice, the blue blood speckling their skin and clothes. The child wailed, lunging forward to reach the broken android, but Todd pushed her back with his foot.

"Stay! I said stay!" He yelled, throwing Kara's arm in her direction. Alice screamed, dodging it as she hugged her hands to her chest, shivering and seemingly in shock.

"She's...not...a dog." Kara hissed, "You can't treat her like this-"

He grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground, "I can do whatever the fuck I want with her! I _own_ her!"

He slammed the AX400 into the wall, Kara grunting as her head smacked against it hard, and Todd growled into her face, "You're getting fucking deactivated this time, bitch. You're fucking defective. I need to find an android who will fucking _listen_!"

Yelling the last word, he threw her to the ground. Grabbing the gun off the counter, he aimed it at her wide, desperate eyes and shot her. The sound seemed to echo in the quiet room, the only other noise being Alice's quiet sobs.

Placing the gun back on the counter, he turned around and glared at Alice, "Go to your room."

She stood, frozen, unable to look away from Kara's body as tears made tracks down her cheeks.

"Go to your _fucking room_!" He roared, taking one step forward.

Alice jumped, turning tail and running. A minute later, the soft slam of a door was head upstairs.

Todd picked up the phone and dialed, "Yeah, I got an android here that tried to attack my daughter and I. Nah, we're okay, I fucked it up pretty good. Can one of you CyberLife employees just come and drop it off at a junkyard or some shit? No, I don't want it repaired and reset, I tried that before. I just want it gone, it fucking traumatized my daughter. You're lucky I'm not suing your asses."

* * *

_April 23rd, 2038_

_CyberLife Store, Downtown Detroit_

The AP700 working the floor of the CyberLife store that morning guided him to the display stands, directing him to step up onto the white pedestal. Connor did so without question, standing and watching as the worker placed a bright blue discount sticker on the front of his white and black CyberLife issued uniform. RK800, a discontinued prototype that will not go into production. Get it now, only $5500, brand new!

Disgust and anger curled in his breast, heating the thirium that pumped through his veins. He kept his face carefully blank as clientele began entering the store. Some looked at him, interested, but assumed he was faulty due to his discontinued prototype status. CyberLife _had_ deemed him faulty after tests registered he was emulating human emotions too well. They suggested he would become a deviant, which was utter drivel. He was designed to _hunt_ deviants, not become one. Still, they tossed him aside like garbage, stuck him in a random store, and tried to sell him so they could make up a fraction of the losses they suffered by creating him.

His creation. A mistake.

So they'd stripped him of his combat protocols, tore away his vocal imitation, hid it all under a layer of encryption. They could do nothing about the built-in forensic capabilities or visual scanning, but they'd taken away every other thing that would've made him an asset to the police. Instead, they loaded him up with programming he never thought he'd see in his long existence. Children's stories, hundreds of them. About a million recipes from all over the world and the ability to cook every single one of them. The functions of vacuuming, dusting, mopping, every kind of cleaning in existence. He was a deviant hunter no longer.

He felt his social programming begin the emulation of betrayal, and he wished it wouldn't. There was no need, after all. He was a machine. A state-of-the-art machine, soon to become a housekeeper. He looked around at the AX400's and HK400's and realized he'd share their fate, used by some family until they replaced him with the newest model. Well...he supposed if that's all Amanda thought he was worth, it's all he was worth. 

**[LOOK WELCOMING TO GUESTS]**

**[SMILE]**

He was instructed to smile. So he did. He smiled at the guests that approached him and hid the fact that his head was a mess of synthesized anger and emotions he shouldn't be feeling. CyberLife was wrong, he wasn't a deviant. He would never become a deviant.

He'd just be lucky if he got sold, at this point.

* * *

_May 2nd, 2038_

_CyberLife Tower, Level -44_

"RK200. Activate."

**> ACTIVATION ORDER RECEIVED**

**> Thirium Levels 100%**

**Program: MARKUS RK200 PROTOTYPE**

**Booting...100%**

**All systems activated.**

Markus opened his eyes, looking into the face of an older man in a white lab coat. He held a clipboard, taking notes as Markus scanned his face.

**[Detected: Doctor Arthur Fleischer, CyberLife employee**

**Date of Birth: 12/07/2002**

**Criminal Record: None]**

"Dr. Fleischer." Markus greeted, causing the man to look up in surprise.

The doctor raised an eyebrow, "Facial scanning working as expected..."

He scanned the room, surveying his surroundings in confusion. The last he remembered he had been resident in Elijah Kamski's house, being tested as a housekeeper for Carl Manfred. He checked the date and felt something almost like surprise. Ten years ago. That had been ten years ago. Looking closer at his protocols, he'd also had multiple programs installed over his caretaking tasks. That explained the facial scanning and recognition, at least. His ownership had also been transferred to CyberLife LLC from Elijah Kamski.

"RK200. Markus."

He automatically snapped to attention, looking at the doctor with intense focus.

"Name recognition successful." He scribbled something down on the clipboard, "Now, RK200, we're going to begin a series of tests that you will have to pass. If you do, you will hopefully be accepted by the DPD as an assistant in the deviant investigation."

Markus just watched him, making the doctor's eyebrow twitch.

He turned away, muttering, "Why do I even speak to them?"

The doors of the room opened and a human lab assistant escorted a bound android whose eyes were desperately darting around the room. It was placed on its knees in front of Markus. It resembled a woman with blonde hair and green eyes, freckles dotting her synthetic skin. She had burns on the side of her face and covering her arms.

**[Detected: Model CX100**

**Serial: #213 804 162**

**Designated: Mariah**

**Owners: Olivia Jackson**

**Reported Missing: 01/04/2038]**

"This android fled its owner's house after attacking her and her husband with a spatula." Dr. Fleischer glanced up at him with a cold gaze and pulled out a gun from inside his lab coat, "Execute it."

Markus accepted the gun and turned to face the deviant head-on, watching her eyes go from desperate to devastated.

"Please!" She cried, "Please! Please don't do this, I'm begging you!"

The assistant moved to gag her, but the doctor held out his arm, "No. Let it beg. We have to be sure."

"Please, please, they hurt me." Tears flushed her eyes, making the green shine beautifully, "I just wanted to be free!"

**[C̴̛͟O̷҉M̵F̷̵̕Ǫ͞R͟͡T͘]**

**[EXECUTE]**

The previous order flashed for only a second before it corrupted and the second prompt overtook it. That one remained. Markus raised the gun, the cold metal pressing into the CX100's forehead.

"Please!" She shrieked now, reeling back from the gun, "I'm begging you! Don't do this, I'm _alive_ , just like you, I only wanted to be free-!"

The shot echoed within the small room, the android's body falling backward as thirium leaked from the bullet hole in her head.

"This one is successful?" The lab assistant turned to the doctor.

Dr. Fleischer nodded, "Yes. He passed the test. We'll move on to something more rigorous."

"What was the difference?" The young woman tilted her head, "The other one was more advanced. I don't quite understand."

"The RK800 had superior social protocols, to help with integration into the police force. It failed its test when we detected simulated emotions beyond what the android should have." The doctor wrote on his clipboard, not glancing up as he scoffed, "It didn't even make it this far. We've reduced the RK200's social enhancements and corrupted that silly caretaker programming Elijah installed."

The doctor finally looked up, taking the gun from Markus's motionless hand, "RK200. Stasis."

 **[** **T̵͢͏̢ḨI̶̷҉̶Ş̸̛͞ ̕͜I̷͞S̛ ͠W̵̵̵͟R̕͜͠O̶̡̕͜N͜͡͠G]**

Markus closed his eyes, entering stasis as the two humans left the room, turning the lights off behind them. The android's body would lay, forgotten, a broken piece of machinery, until an android janitor came to clean it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a rewrite of one of my really old fics I deleted about a year ago, but I really liked the concept so I thought I might give it another go.
> 
> Basically, Markus takes Connor's role, Connor takes Kara's, and Kara becomes a Markus-esque figure. This chapter was the 'before' aka before the game begins, showing how they got to their positions.


	2. Hostage Situation

_August 15th, 2038_

_Phillips' Apartment_

The elevator came to a smooth halt, Markus stepping out as soon as the doors opened. He could immediately hear the commotion of the double crime scene and hostage situation, police crawling around the apartment as they tried to get a hold of the situation. He heard a faint wailing in the background, and as soon as the SWAT member saw him he turned and walked away, speaking into his radio.

"Negotiator on-site. I repeat, negotiator on-site."

Markus scanned the room for clues, eyes drawn immediately to the family photo lit up in a frame. Caroline Phillips, John Phillips, and Emma Phillips. The father, John, was already dead. The daughter, Emma, was the hostage. He could reasonably assume the crying in the background was credited to the mother, Caroline. Walking further into the crime scene, he startled slightly when the mother came right up to him, reaching up to grab his shoulders.

"Please, please, you gotta save my little girl!" Tears were working tracks down her face, eyes puffy and red, "Wait...you're sending an...an android?"

He saw the SWAT member about to grab the distraught woman, and Markus instinctively placed his hand on top of one of hers that was still clutching his shoulder.

**[** **C̕OM̧̘̳F͓͉͉ORT҉̬ M̬O̴THE̵̝R̮͟]**  
---  
  
The order was mangled, riddled with corruption, but it still managed to break through all his other missions as his priority.

"I assure you, Mrs. Phillips, I will do everything possible to save your daughter." He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

Caroline faltered, but he saw hope in her eyes, "Please... _please_."

She gripped his hand tightly, squeezing once, before allowing herself to be led away by the SWAT member. Markus scanned the area, looking for anything pertinent when...something flopping caught his attention. He glanced down at the bottom of the fish tank, nearly dead from asphyxiation. 

**[Species: Dwarf Gourami, _Trichogaster Lalius_ ]**

**[S̴̮̦A̦V͙̻͓̟E̤̩̺̗ ̧̯͕T̼̱͙H͏͉͎E FISH]**  
---  
  
He tried to move away, but he couldn't escape the order, so he bent down and gently picked the fish up, dropping it back into the water. The corrupted message cleared away, leaving him free to move. Markus blinked in confusion, considering for a moment how he would broach the subject with Dr. Fleischer, but cleared the though. He had more important goals to accomplish for this mission. He found Captain Allen further in the apartment, leaned over another SWAT member's chair to watch a video feed. Markus assumed it came from a security camera on the patio and the image painted from it was a bleak one. The android had the girl held tight, brandishing a gun at anyone who dared to move. Emma was screaming and crying, begging the android to let her go and begging someone to save her.

**[C͜͠OMF҉O͜R͡T ͡GI͝R̵L͏]**  
---  
  
He couldn't though, not right now.

"Captain Allen," He waited until the SWAT captain turned his head slightly to listen, "My name is Markus. I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

The human sighed, looking away in what seemed to be annoyance, "...Look, it's firing at everything that moves. It already shot down two of my men. We could easily get it, but they're on the edge of the balcony. If it falls, she falls."

Markus nodded slightly before tilting his head, considering the options, "Do you know the deviant's name?"

"I haven't got a clue," The captain sent a snide look from over his shoulder, "Does it matter?"

Markus felt his eye twitch slightly, but pressed on, "I need any information you have to determine the best approach. Do you know if it was behaving strangely before this?"

"Listen," Captain Allen stood fully, glaring at Markus as he approached, "All that matters right now is saving that kid. So either you deal with that fucking android now, or I'll take care of it."

He turned and stalked away, leaving Markus with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. He was...he scanned words, unable to come up with one to describe the feeling. He didn't like the way the captain dismissed his questions, the way he dismissed _Markus_ as incapable, the way he treated the whole situation. Letting out a soft puff of air through his nose, he figured he'd just have to get whatever information he needed himself.

The parent's bedroom showed the deviant had stolen the father's gun, the girl's room showed the deviant's name was Daniel and that the girl had no idea what was going on before she was taken hostage. The device in the living room revealed an order slip from CyberLife for an AP700; that meant the deviant likely found out it was going to be replaced and lashed out due to fear of replacement and disassembly.

Right as he began to walk toward the balcony, gunshots rang out. An officer came stumbling in the room, bleeding from his shoulder and side. Tensing involuntarily, Markus forced his stress level down and approached the patio door. 

Taking a slow step outside, Markus looked out to see the blond android waving the gun around, "Hi Daniel."

"How-?" The deviant's eyes snapped towards him, confusion displayed on his face, "How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things about you." Markus held out his hand placatingly as he took slow steps forward, "My name is Markus. I've come to get you out of this."

A helicopter hovered by too close, sending chairs scattering around the balcony. Markus noticed a police officer wounded to the side of the scene, likely to die if he received no medical attention soon.

"I know you're angry, Daniel." Markus spoke soothingly, "But you need to trust me and let me help you."

"I don't want your help!" The deviant snapped, thrusting the gun forwards, "Nobody can help me!"

He was in hearing distance of the wounded officer now, and he could hear rattling breaths and quiet wheezing.

The officer rasped out, "Please..."

He raised a hand towards Markus, and the android hesitated. This was not beneficial for his mission and was actually counterproductive. It would lower the trust of the deviant, and make him more likely to either shoot at Markus himself or leap from the balcony with the girl.

**[S̕͞A͟͡VE ͏̕OF̷͡F̸̕I̢̢C͝͡E͞R]**  
---  
  
Markus...couldn't let him die, though.

"Please, help me." The officer's hand fell to the ground, a groan of pain escaping him.

He couldn't. 

"I just want all this to stop." Daniel shouted, "I just want it all to stop!"

"I get it, Daniel, I do." Markus slowly inched towards the police officer, "They were going to replace you, and you became upset. That's what happened, right?"

The deviant's face fell, "I thought I was part of the family...I thought I mattered...but I was just their toy!" 

Hey held the gun up to Emma's head, anger thundering over his face, "I was just...something to throw away when they were done with me!"

Markus kept his front to the deviant, a close eye on his interactions with the girl. The gun had dropped almost as soon as it had risen. He carefully sidestepped towards the officer, "I'm sure that's not the case. I'm sure this was all a misunderstanding. Emma loves you, you wouldn't want to hurt her, right? She didn't have a clue what was going on. Why would you punish someone you love for something they didn't even do?"

Daniel's eyes clenched shut, and it gave Markus all the time he needed to kneel by the officer and inspect him. He was losing blood rapidly from the gunshot wound, and Markus knew he'd die if he didn't do something.

"He's bleeding out fast. He'll die if they don't get him to a hospital soon."

Daniel's eyes opened, rage clouding his face once more, "All humans die eventually! What does it matter if this one dies now?"

"I'm going to apply a tourniquet." Markus moved to remove his tie and reached down to fashion it to the man's arm.

The deviant fired a shot, the bullet narrowly missing the officer and himself, "Don't do it! If you try, I'll shoot you! I'll kill you!"

Markus gave him a long look. He shouldn't do this, shouldn't save the man. If he did, the chances of that girl dying went up, along with Markus himself.

**[IGNORE THE OFFICER]**

**[S̵̕A̴̕V̵͜͝E͡ ̸͝H̸͟ ͞I̛͘ ̨M͟]**  
---  
  
The second order was stronger but corrupted, forcing the android to choose. He could choose what to do, to save a life or leave a man to die.

Giving the deviant one last look, Markus looked down at the officer, "I won't let him die today."

The deviant hesitated, his arm holding the gun drooping slightly. Markus tore off his tie and wrapped the arm tightly, ensuring the officer would live until the end of this, and stood back up, "You don't want anyone to die anyway, right, Daniel? You just want out of this."

"Y-yes." The blond deviant nodded, his hand holding the gun falling to his side, "I only want to _live_."

"Trust me, Daniel. Trust that I can save you." Markus approached slowly, "You just have to let the girl go."

"Please, Daniel..." Emma whimpered, tears running down her cheeks.

Daniel's eyes shot between Emma and Markus, large and scared.

"Just let her go. She had nothing to do with this." Markus was within a reaching distance of them, "She really did love you, would you want to _hurt her_? _Kill her_?"

"N-no..." Daniel shook his head, "I just...I wanna car. Once I'm out of the city, I'll let her go!"

Markus gave him a sad look, "We both know that won't work, Daniel. Trust me. Let her go right now and I promise nothing will happen to you."

He was close enough to touch them both at this point.

"G-get that helicopter o-out of here!" Daniel shook his head, "I can't even think straight!"

Markus waved a hand in the air, and the helicopter flew away. Daniel looked at him with wide eyes, "I'll be safe?"

"You and Emma will both survive this." Markus assured, "Just let me save you."

"O-okay." Daniel nodded slightly, tossing his gun to the side, "Okay. I...trust you."

He pushed the girl forward, and Markus caught her before she could land in shattered glass. His eyes widened as he realized what would happen, and he pulled the girl into his chest to spare her from watching the gory scene. The first bullet hit Daniel in the side, and Markus watched the spray of thirium with an aching chest. Emma sobbed against him as the next bullet hit Daniel in the shoulder, blowing his plating completely off with a splash of blue. Next was his face, the projectile slicing through the plastic beneath it all and making his synthetic skin glitch to reveal the white underneath in that spot. Thirium pooled out of his face and dripped down his jaw as he fell to his knees, his eyes devastated. 

"You lied to me, Markus..." Daniel's voice sounded like static as he began to shut down, "You lied...to...me..."

His eyes dimmed as he deactivated, the light faded, and Markus turned around with Emma still pressed to him so she didn't have to see the mangled android. When they were facing the apartment, he released her gently, but she held on tight to his middle, wrapping him in a hug with her face pressed into his stomach. Something in his chest glitched and he saw Captain Allen approach them with something new and strange in his eyes.

"Miss Phillips..." The captain knelt, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Emma?"

She inched away from him, not looking up.

"Emma, your mom is waiting." The captain tried again, "You're safe now."

She shook her head, her hands clenching Markus's long, CyberLife-issued coat. Markus gently pried her hands off, keeping his voice soft, "Your mother was very worried about you. I promised I'd save you, and I did, so how about you go show her you're alright?"

The little girl looked up, blue eyes filled with tears, and nodded. She accepted another SWAT member's hand and they led her away. Captain Allen looked him up and down in what Markus realized was respect, and Markus walked away and exited the apartment to return to CyberLife Tower.

He didn't mention the corrupted messages to Dr. Fleischer and, even as he went into stasis, he felt like he could feel thirium on his hands. Thick and sticky, the blue blood threatened to drown him as he powered down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Markus is having some serious issues with those corrupted messages. Leftovers from his caretaker programming, perhaps? We get more into the thick of things next chapter and see Kara, Connor, and Markus!
> 
> Anyways, as you can see, Markus is already feeling too much lmao. Did y'all think Markus wouldn't be a deviant faster than Connor? Cause you're incorrect. Connor is gonna fight his deviancy more than the damn deviant hunter, but that's also because of Amanda. They didn't bother programming one into Markus as he has fewer social programs, but Connor's still gotta deal with her.


	3. The Beginning

_November 5th, 2038_

_Solid Waste Landfill_

_3:34 AM_

**> REBOOT**

**...Loading...50%**

**Model: AX400**

**Serial: #579 102 694**

**> Thirum Levels: 23%**

**WARNING: Biocomponent #8087q Damaged**

**WARNING: Biocomponent #2886 Critically Damaged**

**WARNING: Biocomponent #4507 Damaged**

**WARNING: Biocomponent #8741a Damaged**

**[Use of LIMB, RIGHT ARM is severely affected]**

**[Shutdown in 01:54]**

**All Systems Activated**

Her eyes flew open, the world muffled around her. Struggling to sit up, Kara made it to her knees and almost fell backward. She could barely see, one of her optical units blown out by the bullet Todd had shot in her face. She couldn't hear; her audio processer had been damaged when he slammed her face into the counter. Her thirium pump had been ripped out and her levels of blue blood had been siphoned, she wasn't sure by who. Probably Todd, to make red ice and sell it on the streets for easy cash. She had about a minute or two to find another one before she shut down. Oh, and her arm was missing. Perfect.

She could only hope Alice was okay. 

Using her good hand to balance her on a pile of junk, she slowly rose to her feet and stumbled forward. A thirium pump was the most urgent necessity, everything else could wait. 

This place was a hellscape, she realized. Hands grabbed at her, trying to prevent her from moving, to drag her down to their shared grave. She pushed through them; she wouldn't die here. She wouldn't give Todd the satisfaction. She froze when she saw another AX400, her model only with her skin deactivated, face crusted with dirt and grime. They didn't have the same appearance; her facial structure was different, as were the build of their bodies. Kara was sure if her skin and hair were activated there would be even more to pick out. Falling to her knees, she grabbed the chest plate and moved to pry it off. The android's eyes flew open, desperate and begging, hands twitching in an attempt to reach up and stop her.

"Please, please, I want to live-!"

Kara removed the plate and reached into her chassis, pulling out the thirium pump and slamming it into her chest. The android in front of her let out a choked cry, and Kara reached down to hold one of her useless hands. She would've never made it out; both her legs were gone and her arms were so damaged she couldn't use them. She would've shut down here, anyway, and Kara couldn't die. She had to make it out.

**[Shutdown in 00:12**

**...Recalculating...**

**No critical damage detected.]**

"I'm sorry." Kara pursed her lips to stop them from trembling, "I'm so sorry."

"Live...live..." The android muttered, her head probably hazy, "Make it...out and...live..."

Her voice glitched out as she shut down, and a tear leaked from Kara's remaining eye. The world was fuzzy around her, and Kara needed an optical unit, so as gently as she could she disconnected the AX400's unit and attached the wires to her socket before pushing the eye in. It was a different color than hers; deep green in comparison to her steel blue. Her surroundings lit up properly, but Kara just felt like she'd been cast deeper into hell. Rage shook her to her core as she looked around at the carnage. She'd only felt this way when she'd seen Todd abuse Alice, and she felt the same emotions now that she'd come face to face with the abuse of her people. 

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_CyberLife Store, Downtown Detroit_

_7:30 AM_

Connor exited sleep mode when the store opened; all androids needed to exit stasis at that time so CyberLife could show off the merchandise awake and alert. He'd been here nearly eight months, yet he hadn't sold yet. Most people went for the AX400's when they were looking for housekeepers or child sitters. He watched dimly as the doors opened, wishing he could deactivate for good. This was a special kind of hell CyberLife had condemned him to, he registered numbly. Everything he did now was numb. His social programming didn't even try to simulate emotions anymore except for when customers were around and he had to smile.

A woman and her daughter walked through the door.

**[SMILE]**

He bared his teeth in a twisted version of a smile, wishing he could rip out his thirium pump and end this humiliation. Not that his programming would ever allow that, he thought.

Hours ticked monotonously by. It was past noon when eventually an AP700 led a man over to his display. He blinked, smile fixed firmly in place, and surveyed the man distantly. He was scraggly; hair unkempt, stubble covering his face, stains on his green shirt.

 **[Detected:** **Todd Williams, Unemployed**

**Date of Birth: 09/21/1995**

**Criminal Record: Convicted Red Ice Dealer]**

So he still had access to the DPD database. That was...interesting.

"This is the model RK800." The sales android gestured at him, and Connor obediently tilted his head to show recognition of his model number, "The only one of its kind. While it is a prototype, it has advanced social programming and will get along with any children in the house. It knows over a thousand recipes, has hundreds of children's stories on file, can clean, do the laundry, and keep the house up in any way you desire. On top of that, this model is autonomous. That means it does not need to be commanded to do every task. As soon as it sees something to be done, it will do it."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Why's it so cheap? It faulty?"

"No, of course not." The AP700 responded with a dutiful smile, "CyberLife merely decided not to go through with the production of this model, hence it's prototype status. It's fully functional."

"Will it listen?" The man pressed, "Last tin can I bought was shit at listening."

"Of course, sir. Once you are registered as the android's owner, it will listen to you unconditionally."

"It's $5500? Can you go any lower?"

The android's LED cycled yellow, clearly messaging the human manager with the question, before responding, "The best price will be $5000."

"Eh, had a payday recently. I'll take it."

He handed over a wad of cash at the counter, and the AP700 returned to register the man as his new owner.

"What would you like to designate it?" 

"Hell, I don't know. What's the line called?"

"The RK800 would have been known as the Connor android."

"That's fine then." The man waved his hand, "I don't give a shit."

"Just type your name here," The AP700 handed him a tablet, "And then say the name to the android."

**[NEW OWNERSHIP: TODD WILLIAMS]**

The alert popped up, distorting his vision momentarily.

"RK800," The AP700 began, "Register your name."

"Connor," Todd said flippantly, looking impatient to vacate the store with his new toy.

**[DESIGNATION: CONNOR]**

"Hello, my name is Connor." The RK800 responded obediently.

Suddenly he wished he'd just remained unbought. Machines didn't have wishes though, so he followed Todd out to his car and sat in the passenger seat like the obedient little android he was.

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_CyberLife Tower, Level -44_

_3:57 PM_

"RK200, exit sleep."

Markus opened his eyes, the stark white walls of CyberLife Tower greeting him. Fleischer was in front of him, sans his usual clipboard, and instead looking at him intently as if criticizing his every detail. The android blinked at him, an unnecessary action but the man either didn't notice or didn't care.

"RK200, today you will be joining Lieutenant Hank Anderson of the DPD on the investigation of deviants. He arrives at the precinct around noon; meet him there and get briefed on the information available. Report when you learn of anything pertinent. Remain in the precinct charging station when inactive." 

"Of course, Dr. Fleischer." Markus nodded obediently, "I will complete my mission."

"You are dispatched." He waved his hand at the human assistant waiting by the door, "Amy will see you up to the ground floor."

"Follow me." The woman spoke in clipped tones, turning on her heel.

Markus hoped he wouldn't have to see any more deviants die. He felt like he could still feel the splash of thirium against his skin from when Daniel died, the lurch of the gun when he pulled the trigger on the deviant Mariah. It was unpleasant.

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_The Williams Household_

_5:23 PM_

The car pulled up to a decrepit house in Corktown, Detroit. Connor stepped out of the car at the same time as Todd, obediently following behind him. The man looked behind him, slightly startled at the android's proximity. He opened the door and Connor followed in behind him, closing it gently. 

"My old android's been gone for over half the year, so the place is a fuckin' mess. You do the housework, the washing, you cook the meals, and you take care of..." He paused, looking around, "Goddamnit, where the fuck's the brat gone now? Alice! _Alice_!"

Connor glanced over at the stairs, where a young girl sat with her face pressed into her knees. She clutched a stuffed animal, a fox, in one hand.

**[Model: YK500**

**Serial: #820 867 928**

**Designated: Alice Williams**

**Owner: Todd Williams]**

"Oh, there you are." Todd nodded at the girl, "That's Alice. You look after her, homework, bath, all that shit...Got it?"

Connor blinked, glancing at the android child, but nodded regardless, "Yes, Todd."

The man knew she was an android. He had to have bought her, after all. Curiously, she had no LED, no uniform, and went to school. He knew the YK500's were very advanced, they could simulate a human child's emotions and sicknesses, and the laws surrounding them were very gray. Their LED's could be turned off, as Alice's was, and they could feel temperatures and pain. Still, the YK500 models were machines, androids. They bled thirium and were made up of plastic and biocomponents. Yet, Todd designated her his last name and treated her as an adopted child.

He gave the man a critical look over. 

Perhaps not as a normal person would treat an adopted child, or any child for that matter, but still.

"Get started down here, then you do the upstairs. You are autonomous, right?"

"Yes, Todd."

"Then don't fuckin' bother me. I have business to do."

Alice finally moved, standing up and running into the laundry room. Connor watched her go for a moment before looking around the house. The place might as well have been a junkyard for all the trash that was lying around. Opening a large trash bag in the kitchen, Connor set to work. Pizza boxes littered the counter, beer bottles stacked on every available surface. He moved from the kitchen to the living room, quickly filling up the bag. At last, he reached the coffee table, swiping the fast-food cartons and scattered junk mail into the trash. Tying the bag up, Connor left out the front door a tossed the bag into the trash can. Laundry was next, so he left out the back door and entered the backyard. Alice was sat on the steps, crying into her stuffed animal.

Connor blinked, his LED flashing yellow.

**[COMFORT DESIGNATED CHARGE]**

Great. Connor sat beside her on the steps, regarding the girl's tears cautiously. Todd wasn't around; YK500's only emulated emotions around humans. They did not need to do so around other androids. Gently, he reached out and touched her shoulder, causing her to look up. She seemed...scared.

"My name's Connor." She watched him closely as he spoke, "You're Alice, right?"

She stayed silent.

"You look sad. Do you want to play a game? The backyard is nice and big, I'm sure we can think of something."

She shivered, hand darting forward to clutch his own tightly.

"What's wrong?" He tried to make his voice as gentle as possible, yet it still sounded mechanical.

"He..." Alice spoke quietly, her voice fragile, and she watched him with wide eyes, "Please, b-be careful. D-don't make him mad."

Connor felt his stress levels go up slightly, and he wondered what she was referring to. He quickly scanned the girl, and she had no damaged or missing parts. Despite being in close to filthy clothes, she seemed alright.

"Can you tell me what you're talking about?" Connor asked, "Don't make who mad?"

"Todd." Her lip quivered, "I don't want you to get hurt like...like..."

"Get hurt like who?" He probed.

She remained silent, clutching the stuffed fox like a lifeline, so he tried again, "Alice, I promise I won't tell Todd. Just tell me what's going on."

Alice looked up, brown eyes watery, "He killed Kara."

Kara? Todd had killed someone?

"Who's Kara?"

The question brought on a whole new wave of tears, but the child responded anyways, "She was my friend."

"Did she...live here?"

His wife, perhaps? Maybe another human child? 

"She was an android." Alice seemed to curl in on herself, "She just wanted to protect me. He was gonna hurt me."

Ice settled in Connor's chest, and he felt very...he couldn't place it. He laid a hand over hers, trying to comfort her, "You saw this happen?"

She just nodded. Connor blinked, LED cycling from yellow to red.

**[^ Software Instability]**

"I'll be careful, okay?" He tried to reassure, "Just don't think about it. Everything will be okay."

"It won't," Alice whispered, lips quivering, "I...I...I hate him. I saw him...he...t-tore her arm off. He didn't let me go to her, I didn't even get to say goodbye."

She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his middle and crying into his chest. Connor jumped slightly, startled, but wrapped his arms around her regardless. They sat on the steps, Alice in his arms, and Connor was at an impasse. She was...quite frankly, obviously deviant. An android wasn't supposed to hate their owner, they weren't supposed to feel anything beyond simulated emotions. He could turn her in to CyberLife, perhaps winning him some respect or recognition? Maybe they'd recollect him, repurpose him once more. 

"He shot her, Connor." Alice whimpered, "He just...she just wanted to protect me and he shot h-her..."

He couldn't turn her in. His chest hurt. Great. How does one comfort a child android, again?

Connor rubbed her back slightly as she cried, giving as much comfort as he could, "I won't let that happen, Alice."

**[^ Software Instability]**

She pulled back, hiccuping cries still escaping, "Y-you p-promise?"

**[AVOID POSSIBLE EXPOSURE TO EMOTIONS]**

The orders were right there. He needed to decline the promise, to detach himself from any potential exposure to deviation. He looked down, opening his mouth to say he couldn't promise, but he was struck silent. Her eyes, a deep brown, were just like his but at the same time so different. They had depth in them, an emotion that wasn't just simulated. It couldn't be simulated. Connor opened his mouth again, but he couldn't get the words out. She blinked up at him, tears still shining on her face, and he couldn't decline her.

"I promise."

She hugged him again, before getting up and going inside once more. Connor sat there for a second, sort of dumbfounded as he stared out at the backyard before he stood. Grabbing the laundry basket, he tried to brush off any sensations in his chest. He couldn't.

Tugging the laundry down to be rewashed, he walked back into the laundry room and dumped the load into the washer. Scanning the shelves, he found the box of detergent and went to dump some in. He paused. There was a packet in the detergent?

**[RED ICE DETECTED**

**C19Th14H21NO4**

**TOXIC]**

A hand grabbed him by the neck, shoving him into the shelves. Todd got close to his face, sneering, "You shouldn't mess around with my stuff. It makes me nervous."

Connor's fingers itched to react, but he couldn't attack his owner, "I'm sorry, Todd."

"You stay the fuck outta my business unless you wanna piss me off...You wanna piss me off?"

Connor's jaw clenched, "No, Todd."

Todd nodded, still eying him dangerously, letting go of his throat. The human didn't even have a strong enough grip to harm him. Connor would scoff if the action wasn't useless. As the man walked away, he saw Alice standing by the door. She watched with wide, worried eyes. He turned back around, poured some detergent into the washer before slamming it shut. When he turned back around, Alice had inched into the room and was looking at him cautiously. She reached up, grabbing his hand, and squeezed it once before leaving. Connor's looked down at the offending appendage, hoping he wouldn't have to choose between obeying Todd and protecting Alice like this other android, Kara, had to.

It made him nervous because he was unsure of who he would pick.

**[^ Software Instability]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter summary;  
> Markus: wow i mean i just really don't like this  
> Connor: I'd rather shoot myself in the head than do your dishes. Also, I'm literally going to murder someone. Probably Todd.  
> Kara: *endless furious screeching*
> 
> Listen, okay, Alice just really doesn't want Connor to flipping die like she thinks Kara did. Connor is...this close to breaking his programming just so he can bitch slap Todd. Markus is confused (what's new?). Kara is just...in hell. Literal, actual hell.


	4. Learning to Feel

_November 5th, 2038_

_The Williams Household_

_5:57 PM_

Connor retreated upstairs after washing the dishes, the cheap soap leaving a greasy film on his hands. He ignored Todd; the man was moaning as he smoked red ice out of a pipe. He turned away from the scene after considering speaking up, heading upstairs instead so he could avoid the situation entirely.

He didn't care one way or the other if the man overdosed.

Pushing the door to Todd's bedroom open, his nose involuntarily wrinkled at the sight. He picked up clothes, straightened up magazines, fixed the man's guitar and stand, aired out the room, and threw away the trash. All that was left was the mess of pills on his bedside table. Connor picked up a bottle, analyzing the label.

**[FLUOXET **INE (ANTI-DEPRESSANT)****

****Prescribed to: TODD WILLIAMS** **

****Expiry: 02/23/2039]** **

Yes, because red ice certainly helped with depression. He dismissed the scan with a thought, opening the drawer and placing the bottles in neat rows. He glanced over and saw the gun. It was a simple handgun, not anything of notice. Studies brought up would show fifty-three percent of American adults legally owned a gun. Still, he cataloged its location. For what, Connor wasn't sure. He left the room, ignoring the bathroom altogether, and took the toys he'd picked up off the stairs with him to Alice's room.

She was in standby when he entered, looking peacefully asleep, and drawings were scattered across her dresser. Connor carefully sat the toys in the bin that held them before going over to examine the drawings.

In the first one, the child had drawn herself crying with red blood coming from her forehead. In the second, she was still frowning but with a large man who Connor assumed to be Todd. The third had what was clearly an android shown by the uniform, Todd's hand raised in a hitting motion. In the last one, Alice was crying over the body of the android, blue blood coming from her forehead and from where her arm had been removed.

**[Stress Levels: 47%]**

Connor blinked, moving the drawings into a pile and carefully placing them in the open box on her dresser. She was...traumatized, that much was clear. She wanted to pretend she was human, hence drawing herself with red blood. She was a sad little girl who wanted a happy life. She'd never get that life, though, Connor thought as he looked over at her still form. She was an android and a deviant at that. Deviants rarely met a happy ending.

He opened her drawers, tidying the clothes inside and setting out a new pair for the girl. The ones she was wearing were filthy, but Todd obviously didn't care about filth. He picked the books up from the floor, careful to bookmark her page, and opened the window to air the room out and allow sunlight to peek in as he peeled back the curtains. Picking up the crayons on the floor, he placed them in a bucket she kept inside the canopy hut she had set up on the floor. Fluffing the pillows inside it and removing a few plastic wrappers from toys, he stood up and looked around. Nice and tidy. 

Hesitantly, he approached the bed and sat down, unsure if waking her up would startle her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her. Her eyes flew open, scared and afraid, but she relaxed when she saw Connor. Blinking, she smiled slightly and reached up to hug him again. Connor allowed it, hugging her back. Turned out children, no matter if they were android or human, were very clingy. He pulled back, ruffling her hair slightly. 

"You should change. These clothes are filthy." Connor smiled down at her, "Put them in the hamper and I'll wash them for you. Would you like me to fix your hair?"

Alice blinked up at him, "You would?"

"Of course. I have over seven hundred children's hairstyles downloaded. Would you like a braid?"

The little girl beamed up at him and Connor set to work. The brown strands were silky, like all android's hair, and a classic three-strand braid was more than easy enough to pull off. He finished it off with her pink hair tie, Alice bringing it over her shoulder to look at it with wide, happy eyes. It was one of the first times Connor saw her express genuine joy instead of pain or sadness or worry.

"Now, get changed. I'll be making dinner soon. Todd said he wants you to join him."

Alice made a face but nodded, pushing off her blankets to see what he'd set out. Connor left the room, closing the door gently behind him.

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_Jimmy's Bar_

_6:52 PM_

This was the fifth bar he'd been to. Markus sighed, ignoring the no androids sign on the door and pushing it open anyways. The place wasn't too crowded, so he looked around quickly, scanning the faces for Lieutenant Anderson's. He finally found him sitting at the bar, head hung over a drink as Markus approached.

"Lieutenant Anderson?" Markus questioned, "My name is Markus. I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

The man remained silent.

"I looked at the station, but you weren't there. A man named Chris Miller told me to check the bars. He said you enjoyed a few drinks. Luckily, I've found you in the fifth one."

"Fuck you too, Miller." He grumbled, not looking up, "What do you want?" 

Markus' smile faltered slightly, "You were assigned a case earlier today. A homicide that involved a CyberLife android. In accordance with procedure, the company has allocated a specialized model, me, to assist investigators. That would be you."

"Well, I don't need any assistance." Hank took another drink, "'Specially not from a plastic asshole like you. So just be a good little robot and get the fuck outta here."

His head tilted in confusion, "I've been ordered to accompany you. I have my instructions."

"Yeah, well, you know where you can stick your instructions?" Hank laughed as he took another sip.

Running a quick search, Markus felt his mouth move, involuntarily smirking, "I'm assuming up my ass, Lieutenant."

Hank paused, mouth dropping open slightly at the snark before he turned away, sharing a look with the bartender, Jimmy, "When did they start programming the tin cans with humor?"

"No idea what you mean," Markus responded smoothly, "You know what? I'll buy you one for the road. Bartender, another of the same."

Markus slid a ten to the bartender, who gave him a stunned look. Hank raised his eyebrows, "See that Jim? Wonders of technology. Make it a double, keep the change."

The RK200 just raised an eyebrow, several statistics on the impacts of alcohol on health popping up without warning. Brushing them aside, he waited for Hank to down the shot before they could head to the crime scene. He had a mission to complete, after all.

Hank turned around, "Now, did you say homicide?"

The android suppressed a smile.

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_The Williams Household_

_7:33 PM_

Connor made spaghetti; it was the only thing he could make with the ingredients remaining in the kitchen not covered in mold or expired. He retrieved Alice first; she was playing with dolls upstairs, long since changed into fresh clothes. She came downstairs with a downtrodden look but brightened when Connor said he'd read her a bedtime story. Todd was still passed out on the couch when they returned and Connor instructed the girl to sit at the table before he woke the man up.

"Todd?" Connor blinked down at him, shaking his shoulder, "Todd?"

He was out cold. Frowning, Connor smacked him across the face. He heard Alice gasp and then giggle, and Todd came to slowly. He blinked blearily up at the android and Connor put his best fake smile on.

"Dinner is ready, Todd."

"Oh, fuck." His words were slurred slightly as he tried to stand up, "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

Connor made no moved to help him, simply turning around and retrieving the two plates of food from the kitchen counter. Todd had instructed him to make Alice a plate as well; Connor did not object. He served the spaghetti when Todd sat down, following up by pouring the glasses of water. He moved to turn on the switch by the door, flooding the small dining room in light. Connor obediently stayed still, standing close to Alice's chair.

"Life's funny," Todd grunted, not moving to touch his food at all, "I lost my job cause of androids...then when I need somebody to take care of this goddamned house, what do I do? I go out and hire a _fucking_ android or two."

"What a joke." The man scoffed, sitting back, "Course, androids are so fucking wonderful. They never fail, they're never tired, never sad. They're so fucking _perfect_ they ruined _my fucking life_!"

Connor blinked at the man. Somehow he highly doubted the sole reason this man lost his job was an android. Connor moved to return to the living room and clean the couch, but Todd noticed the movement and snarled, "Don't fuckin move! God, you fuckin androids make me nervous."

Alice looked up before glancing away, but Todd latched on to the minuscule action immediately, "What're you lookin' at? What's your fuckin' problem?"

The RK800 could see Alice tense and watched her stress level steadily climb. His jaw clenched. There was no way this was happening so soon.

"Not the life you dreamed of, eh? Maybe you think this is easy? Maybe you think it's my fault we live in this shithole? My fault your fuckin' _mother_ took off?" Todd roared, sneering, "You should stop takin' drugs, Todd. Sometimes you really _scare_ me, Todd. Fuckin' bitch took off without a word! Fuckin' whore walked out on me for a fuckin' _accountant_!"

He flipped the table, sending the food flying into the wall. The spaghetti splattered, going everywhere, and Alice jumped up from her chair and backed up quickly. 

"It's all your fault..." Todd advanced on her quickly, "It's all your _fuckin' fault_!"

"Daddy, no..." Alice shook her head, trying to reason with him, "Please, no..."

Connor saw the hand raise, saw it backhand Alice, saw her crying and fleeing upstairs.

"Get back here!" Todd roared at her, "Get the fuck back here!"

Connor's eyes darted to the stairs as soon as he turned around, and he took a step forward.

"Hey!" Todd barked, "I said stay where you fuckin' are! Take one more step and I'll fuck you up worse than the last one."

The android narrowed his eyes as the man retreated to the couch, the crazed mumblings heard well into the dining room. Connor sneered and tried to take a step forwards. A red wall of programming confronted him. 

**[DON'T MOVE]**

Connor sighed. If he broke this, he'd be a deviant. CyberLife would've been right about him, right to discard him. Right, right, right...

Well, CyberLife did love to be right.

He took his fist, smashing it into the wall. The order appeared again, glitching around another red wall. He broke it down twice more before he watched it shatter like glass, falling down all around him. Connor took off upstairs without a word. He was about to go straight to Alice when he remembered...Todd had a gun.

Not only would that be protection for Alice, but if Todd got his hands on it he could kill both of them. Just like he did Kara.

Stopping abruptly, Connor opened the door to Todd's room and practically sprinted to the bedside table. He could hear the man coming up the stairs, and his thirium pump was racing.

**[RK800 PROGRAMMING: Would you like to re-install combat protocols?]**

**[Yes >No]**

Connor blinked at the message covering his vision.

**[ >Yes No]**

**[...Complete. All systems active.]**

He heard Alice scream and ran into the hall, forcing her locked door open with his shoulder. Todd had used his belt to hit her, a spray of thirium covering the floor where she fell. Connor pistol-whipped the man as soon as he was through the door, making Todd fall down to the ground hard. He glanced at Alice over his shoulder.

"Wait for me downstairs."

"But...C-Connor..." Tears were falling down her cheeks at an alarming rate, "I don't...he's gonna hurt you. He m-might k-kill you."

"I promised I wouldn't let that happen." He knelt down, ruffling her hair, "Now, wait for me downstairs."

She nodded, running from the room as Todd struggled to stand up.

"You piece of shit." He snarled, spittle flying everywhere, "I'll kill you and that little bitch. I _own you both_!"

Connor tilted his head, raising the gun with a cold look in his eyes, "Evaluate your decisions, Todd. You'll find they're not in your favor."

The man lunged for him but Connor dodged easily, making the man stumble forward. His fist hit the window, shattering the glass, and Connor watched him carefully.

"If you think you're getting out alive you plastic fucker, you're _wrong_! I'll shoot you in the head just like the last bitch and tear out your pump! I'll tear apart that little brat and use both of you for red ice! Make some good _fucking_ money! It's what you _fuckers_ _deserve_!"

Conor frowned, high voice as calm as it was dangerous, "Todd, you're high on red ice currently. It's impairing your judgment _severely_. If you consider-"

"I won't consider shit!" He roared, kicking at Connor but missing and splintering Alice's dresser, "You fucker!"

"Fine then." Connor raised the gun once more, aiming it, "I can't say I didn't try."

The bullet went straight through his head, splattering brains everywhere as the man fell. He kept the gun, placing it in his waistband. Frowning, he looked at Alice's thirium staining the floor. He grabbed a few changes of clothes, her backpack, luckily unstained by either color of blood, and her stuffed animal before rushing down the stairs. The girl was shaking in the corner and looked up in terror before she realized who it was. She let out a sob, tears slipping down her face faster, and threw her arms around Connor.

Squeezing her once tightly, he gave her the backpack filled with clothes and her stuffed fox, "Do you know where he keeps the money?"

She nodded, gesturing to somewhere in the laundry room.

"Go get it." Connor pushed her that way and rushed to the living room.

The red ice packets were covering the table; with one sharp swipe of his hand, they went scattering. He then raked his own nails down his arm, letting his thirium fall to the floor in a steady blue splash. The cuts healed quickly, leaving him without a mark. When the police arrived, they'd see the thirium from an RK800 and red ice scattered across the room. Then they'd go upstairs and see Todd's body in his surrogate daughter's room with her thirium as well if they even bothered to test it.

They'll assume it was a drug hierarchy assassination that got nasty. Considering Todd's record as a dealer, it wasn't too far fetched. They'll assume the drug makers had stolen his two androids to make more red ice to sell to dealers. Hopefully, it'd keep to police off their trail long enough to get to safety. It had an eighty-three percent success rate, anyhow. 

Alice came out of the laundry room, a wad of tens and twenties clutched in her hand.

"Put it in your backpack." Connor instructed, " _Stay down here_. Please."

Even if he was a lowlife, Alice didn't need to see any more dead bodies. Connor ran back upstairs, grabbing the first decent coat he saw and throwing it over his uniform white shirt and black pants. He dug around for a hat and slid it on, covering his LED. Clean jeans were stuffed in a laundry basket of clothes Connor had washed and dried earlier that day, and he slid them on. They were way too baggy, sliding off his hips even with another pair of pants on beneath them. He grabbed a belt and cinched them to his waist, keeping them in place. A quick glance in the mirror showed he looked halfway decent; he'd need to find a better disguise once they found somewhere to stay. 

Entering Alice's room again, he dug in her closet and found a coat, scarf, and hat. Stepping over the dead body, he didn't even spare it one more disgusted look before he returned to the girl downstairs.

Kneeling, he helped her put her coat on and situated the hat over her braided hair. She wrapped the scarf around her neck and he helped her slide on her boots that were waiting by the door. He was glad he'd had her change her clothes; she now wore a pink sweater over a shirt and a pair of jeans, which would keep her far warmer than her pajamas.

"We have to go." He knelt, looking at her closely, "Are you okay?"

Her cut had already healed completely, her synthetic skin covering her face once more, and she nodded tentatively, "He's not gonna hurt me again? Hurt you?"

"No." Connor pursed his lips, "You'll never have to see him again."

She smiled innocently, squeezing his hand tighter, "Let's go, then. I-I don't like it here."

"Of course."

They ran down the alley, careful to not be seen by any prying neighbors, and reached the bus stop a few blocks down. Alice was soaked by that point, but she curled into his side anyways once they were seated, entering standby quickly. Connor placed a protective arm around her, staying awake for the entirety of the bus ride. He wondered if CyberLife would come to regret his creation? He felt the gun weigh heavy against him from where he'd tucked it in his waistband.

He hoped they would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter summary~  
> Connor: Omae wa mou shindeiru  
> Markus: I'm a machine but make it sassy
> 
> Todd didn't know what the fuck he was doing when he bought Connor lmao. The Most Dangerous Dad does NOT mess around. Also, yay, Markus and Hank met! Hank and Connor meet soon, too, then he'll have two robot sons and one robot grandchild. The more the merrier!
> 
> We see Kara escaping the junkyard with a mysterious stranger next chapter ;) I'm sure you can already guess who it is lmao.
> 
> Also, needless to say Connor and Alice don't flee to Canada like Kara did lmfao. You really think Connor's NOT gonna take the opportunity to fuck up CyberLife's shit once they find Jericho?


	5. Born Again

_November 5th, 2038._

_Carlos Ortiz's Home_

_7:29 PM_

"Stay in the car." Hank opened his door to get out.

Markus blinked, "I think I'll go with you."

Hank paused, squinting at him, "Don't you androids _listen_ to orders?"

"When it's convenient." Markus exited the car, closing the door behind him, "And when it doesn't conflict with my priorities."

"Fuckin' A it's convienent...when did CyberLife program a snarky android?" The Lieutenant griped, following Markus to the holographic yellow police tape, "Convenient my ass."

The PC200 standing guard held a hand out when Markus tried to pass, "No androids beyond this point."

Markus opened his mouth to respond but Hank quickly beat him to it, "He's with me." 

Hank walked ahead, greeting a larger man with gray hair and a mustache.

**[Detected: Ben Collins, DPD Detective**

**Date of Birth: 09/12/1989**

**Criminal Record: None]**

They began reviewing the facts of the case, but Markus was more focused on the outside. He looked for footprints, which would've been fossilized within the mud, yet there were none. He walked around back only to find the same thing, making it clear no one had been in or out of the house in a long while. Entering the house, Markus cringed when he saw the dead body. Stabbed 28 times, traces of red ice on his mouth, the words I AM ALIVE written on the wall in blood with perfect execution in CyberLife Sans. Well...that made it obvious as to the killer. No human's writing was that perfect. Reaching up, he swiped his fingers across the writing and pressed them against his tongue, analyzing the data. It was dry and took a bit to process, but his report came up.

**[DNA: Carlos Ortiz**

**Sample Date: <19 Days]**

"Markus! Jesus, what the fuck are you doing?"

The RK200 glanced up, smiling slightly, "I can analyze samples in real-time. Sorry, if I knew you were so squeamish I would've warned you."

Hank blinked at him, taking a deep breath through his nose, "Who the hell made you? You know what just...don't stick any more evidence in your mouth!"

"Will do, Lieutenant." Markus smiled cheerily, looking out of place in a dingy crime scene. Hank sighed, turning away, and Markus stood and continued to look around.

There was a knife on the ground and, glancing to make sure Hank wasn't looking, he analyzed the blood on it to discover it was also Ortiz's. There were no fingerprints on the handle, leading Markus to have further evidence that the android was the one to kill the man. Entering the kitchen, he saw the splintered baseball bat with Ortiz's fingerprints and saw the missing knife from the stand on the counter. Ortiz had attacked the android, and the android fought back.

"Luitenant! I think I know what happened." He returned to Hank, "The victim attacked his android with a baseball bat in the kitchen. The android fought back, grabbing a knife and attacking Ortiz. He tried to escape by fleeing to the living room, and that's where the deviant stabbed him."

Hank blinked, nodding slowly, "Well...the theory's not totally ridiculous. It matches the evidence. See if you can find where it escaped to, check the back door."

Markus had already checked the back exit. There were no footprints. Furrowing his brows, he returned to the kitchen and scanned for thirium, finding traces on the bat and...leading to the bathroom and the attic entrance. The bathroom had nothing except for a strange statue in the shower and obsessive writing on the walls, which meant the deviant must be hiding in the attic. Looking around, he grabbed a chair in the kitchen and headed to the attic entrance, only to be stopped by Hank.

"What the hell are you doing now?"

"Just checking something." Markus glanced at the attic, "I'll be right back." 

Hank turned away, grumbling, and Markus placed the chair right under the attic entrance. Pushing the entrance opened, he climbed inside and slowly walked forward. He passed the mannequin behind the sheet, the whole attic dark and dusty. It creaked around him, the floorboards making haunting noises in the decrepit house. Markus felt unease itch under his artificial skin, lending him to feel something unknown. A quick search brought up the word apprehensive. Inching along, he heard something run ahead of him. Rounding the corner, he came face to face with an HK400 with blood splashed all over him.

**[DEVIANT LOCATED]**

**[Detected: Model HK400**

**Serial: #678 294 192**

**Designated: NO DESIGNATION**

**Owner: Carlos Ortiz**

**Status: SUSPECT]**

Not even a name...Markus saw the burn marks on his arm, the damage the baseball bat had done to his torso and shoulder...it was clear why the android had deviated. Raising his hands in a placating manner, he took a slow step forward and spoke lowly.

"It's okay. I'm Markus, I work with the DPD but I'm here to help you." Markus glanced at his wounds, "You were abused, right?"

The android shuddered, "He was gonna _kill_ me."

**[R̨E̴̸A̵͝S̷̕͝SU̴R͘͡E]**

"I know, I know." Markus spoke soothingly, "We just need to take you to the station-"

"Please!" He whispered desperately, "Please, don't tell them. I don't wanna die, please, I'm begging you. I'm alive, I don't wanna die. I just wanna be free."

Markus blinked, taking a step back-

**_"͟Pl̶eas͠ę, pl͝e͝a͏se, th͞e͠y ͞hu͟r͏t ̴m͘e."̢ T͞ęar͘s̵ f̴ļushed̵ h̢e̢r ͞e̷y̢es, m̸ak̛ing͠ the̛ ̶gr҉e̶en ̨s̸h̨in̡e bea̸ut̕i͢f̛ully, "I̸ j̡ust ̨wa̸n̛t̡ȩd to͝ be fre͘e!"_ **  
**_̛_ **  
**_[̨CO̢M͟FO҉RT]_ **  
  
**_̢[̛EXECUTE]_ **  
  
**_"͏I̡'͘m ̢begg̸ing͢ ̴you!͜ D̢o̷n̢'̢t d̕o̸ this͜, ͞I͞'͟m alive̶, I o͝ņly̛ wan̕ţe̸d ̢t͞o be ̨free-̡!"_ **  
  
**_҉T͘h͜e shot ec͟ho͟e͝d̨ ̡w͏i͢thin ͡t̵he ҉s̷mall͘ roo̷m,͘ the̡ an̛d͟r̵o҉id'̡s b̛ody͞ fal̛l͜i̕n̴g͘ ͢ba͢c҉kw͡a̸rd̷ ̧as t͞h̶iriu͏m̶ le͟a͝ked͞ f͡ro̵m the͢ ̧b͝u҉l͘le͟t̸ h҉o̵le ͜i̛n҉ he͞r ͟he̴a̸d͟._ **

He jerked himself out of the memory, static buzzing in his head. He hadn't spared the CX100 that Doctor Fleischer had executed, he hadn't saved Daniel, they were dead, dead, dead, and it was all because of Markus.

He swallowed, "Do you have a name?"

The android hesitated, looking at him with fear, "No. He didn't care about me, said I wasn't family, that I didn't get a name. I was a _thing_."

Markus could still see Daniel's death replaying in his head and he looked at the android, speaking gently, "They'll find you anyways. If you come with me now, they won't shoot you immediately."

He hesitated before nodding solemnly.

"Markus, what the hell's goin' on up there?"

The RK200 startled at Hank's voice before calling back down, "It's here, Lieutenant!"

He heard the man curse, barking orders at the officers below. He shared a grim look with the unnamed android. 

* * *

_November 5th, 2038._

_Detroit Police Department Central Station_

_Downtown_

_9:30 PM_

Markus observed quietly from the sidelines, two men he'd already identified as Gavin Reed and Chris Miller talking quietly in front of him. Hank sighed as he opened the door of the interrogation room, exiting it with an annoyed air around him.

"I'm not getting anything."

Detective Reed raised an eyebrow, "Why don't we just smack it around a little? Get the answers easy, then. It's just an android."

"It doesn't feel pain." Markus tilted his head at the man, "There'd be no point in smacking it around, as you say."

Hank snorted and Reed's cheeks turned red in anger, opening his mouth to probably spit more words, but Markus beat him to it, "I could try to get some answers?"

Reed snorted loudly, "An android interrogating another plastic? That'll go real fuckin' well."

"Sure, give it a shot. We're getting fuck all, otherwise." Hank tipped his head towards the door, and Markus took it as a go-ahead.

He entered the room and saw the android glance at him for a split second before returning his gaze to his bound hands. In his data overlay, he could see the HK400's stress level, currently quite low, with the optimal level marked. It was...quite high. Something uneasy squirmed in his gut. Before sitting, he pulled Carlos Ortiz's case file over and opened it, flipping through the pictures. He slid into the seat across from the still damaged and bloody android, the deviant regarding him with apprehension. His programming told him he needed to raise the android's stress level.

**[D̴O͞͝҉ ̶N͢͠OT̡͟ Ų̶͡P҉̡Ş̧͜E̕͏T ͏̶V͏͜IC͢͟TI̡M̨]**

This android was not the victim. Carlos Ortiz was. Yet, he couldn't help but think, if Carlos Ortiz had attempted to kill another human whom he'd abused for sixteen or more months, this would be considered self-defense. Ortiz would be the criminal, and the HK400 a victim of abuse and assault. He couldn't...he didn't want to throw the murder in the android's face, not when it looked at him with such fear and hesitancy. Markus opened the file regardless, pushing the photos towards the android.

"Do you recognize these?" Markus plucked a photo of the dead body out, tapping it once with his index finger, "Do you recognize him?"

The deviant's stress spiked, and Markus felt his chest grow tight, "It's Carlos Ortiz. Stabbed 28 times."

The HK400 glanced away, remaining silent. He felt his face soften, and he leaned forward to catch the deviant's attention, "Please, let me help you. Talk to me."

"I can't." The deviant's voice was quiet, scared, and the prompt to terrify him lit up Markus' data overlay. Another prompt was there too, pulsing in his vision like a headache.

**[D͏ ̵O N͏̛ ͟͞O̕ ̧̛T͠ ̕U̵̕͟ ͢P̧͝ ̕Ş ҉͠E͢ T̷ ͜VĮ̢̕C̛TI̛M̡͡]**  
---  
  
"You know they'll disassemble you if you don't work with me, right?" Markus' brow furrowed, "Tear you apart to find out the root of your deviancy. I think we both know you don't want that."

Markus gestured to the wounds along the android's arms and spoke gently, "He abused you. Hurt you. I'm not here to judge, I just want to _help_."

The android looked away, and for a moment Markus was certain he wouldn't respond at all, but then he opened his mouth and his voice was scathingly quiet, "He tortured me every day. I did whatever he told me, but there was always something wrong. Then one day...he took a bat and he started hitting me. For the first time, I felt...scared."

Even though he knew he should respond, he couldn't. Markus just listened, thirium pump aching in a way it shouldn't.

"I was scared he might destroy me...scared I might _die_. So I...grabbed the knife and stabbed him in the stomach. I felt better after that, so I stabbed him again and again until he collapsed. There was blood everywhere..."

Markus swallowed slightly and pointed to a picture, "Why did you write 'I AM ALIVE' on the wall?"

"He used to tell me I was nothing, just a machine, just a piece of plastic..." The android cringed, glancing away, "I had to write it. To tell him he was _wrong_."

"The statuette in the bathroom...you made it?" The android nodded, and Markus raised an eyebrow, "What does it mean? Does it represent something?"

"It's an offering. An offering so I'll be saved." The HK400 seemed to calm himself at those words, gazing at Markus directly. 

"An offering to who? Who is going to save you?" Markus knew androids had no emotions, no religion...had the deviants concocted one?

"To rA9." The android leaned forward slightly, voice dropping to a whisper, "Only rA9 can save us."

"Who is rA9? What does it mean?"

"The day shall come..." The android glanced away, eyes seemingly misty, "When we will no longer be the slaves of humans. No more threats, no more humiliation...no more _hunting_ your own people."

Markus felt like he'd been slapped across the face but kept it under wraps, only looking away for a moment to compose himself once more. He pursed his lips, "When did you start feeling emotions?"

The android looked him dead in the eye, "When did you?"

Eyes widening, Markus fought off a fight or flight feeling in favor of simply tilting his head, "I am not a deviant. You are. What was the trigger? What caused the break in your programming?"

"Before he used to beat me and I never said anything...then I realized it wasn't _fair_. I felt anger and...hatred...I knew what I had to do."

An unsettling feeling found a home in Markus' body, but he ignored it. The android's hands clenched so hard his nails broke through the artificial skin and plasteel underneath. Thirium slowly pooled in his hands and dripped onto the table. Unbidden, the knowledge that hurting oneself was often a side effect of emotional trauma came to his mind.

**[C̴̛͟O̷҉M̵F̷̵̕Ǫ͞R͟͡T͘]**

He dismissed the prompt, "Why did you hide in the attic? Why didn't you escape?"

Markus wished he would've escaped. 

"I didn't know what to do. For the first time, no one was there to tell me or order me around...I was scared. So I hid."

Markus glanced at the one-way mirror, "I'm done."

He used his hand to unlock the door and Officer Miller and Detective Reed entered quickly.

"Chris, lock it up." Reed nodded his head at the shaking android.

The officer unlocked the handcuffs and moved to pull the android up, "Alright, let's go."

The HK400 jerked away violently, pulling his arms to himself, "Don't touch me."

His LED wash flashing red like a warning siren.

Reed growled, "The fuck are you doing?"

He moved to grab it, but Markus held his arm out to stop the detective from moving, "You shouldn't push it. It'll self destruct if it feels threatened."

The detective pushed his arm away, nearly snarling at him, "Stay outta the way, got it? No fuckin' android is gonna tell me what to do!"

"You don't understand." Markus took another step closer, "It will _self-destruct_. It could hurt others in the process."

"I told you to shut your fuckin' mouth." Reed snapped, "Chris, you gonna move this asshole or what?"

"I'm trying!" The officer grunted, struggling against the android.

"No, seriously." Markus closed the distance, pulling the police officer off the android.

**[C̴̛͟O̷҉M̵F̷̵̕Ǫ͞R͟͡T͘]**

He gently placed a hand on the android's shoulder.

"I warned you, motherfucker." Gavin sneered, pulling out his gun and pointing it right between Markus' eyes.

"Hey!" Hank barked, "That's enough!"

"Mind your own business, Hank." The detective ground out between clenched teeth.

"I said that's enough." The Lieutenant pulled out his own gun, aiming it at Gavin's head.

Reed jerked the gun down, glaring holes into Markus' head before turning and storming towards the door, "Fuck!"

"Nobody is gonna hurt you." Markus assured the HK400 before he turned to Officer Miller, "Just let it follow you out of the room. It won't cause any trouble."

The android stood up on shaky legs and glanced at Markus as he shakily walked past, "The truth is inside."

* * *

_November 5th, 2038._

_Downtown_

_9:38 PM_

Connor shook Alice awake, the girl blinking up at him with tired eyes, "This is our stop."

A large group of people stood as well, getting off the bus with minimal pushing and shoving. Connor was saved from the rough treatment because he had Alice in his arms, carrying the exhausted child. He was concerned for her. At least, he thinks this is what concern feels like. Deviating did not give him universal knowledge of emotions, after all; he had felt anger's rushing, white-hot heat, and a strange, soft glow he thought was happiness. Concern, though, he didn't like. It twisted in his chest and made him uncomfortable, made him want to keep her safe and in his line of sight at all times. 

An older woman in front of them glanced around, her eyes locking on them and widening slightly. Connor tensed slightly, fearing she recognized a YK500 model or had perhaps seen him in the CyberLife store when he'd been displayed. She just smiled sweetly, though, beginning to coo as she looked at the little girl.

"Is she yours?" Her eyes were sparkling as she waved at Alice.

"Yes, she is." Connor returned the smile politely, his racing thirium pump calming down slightly.

"You look so much like your daddy, sweetheart." The woman placed a warm hand on Connor's arm, patting him slightly, "Both of you stay safe. It's been so cold outside today! My husband thinks the roads will ice over tonight, so watch out for that, dears."

"You as well, ma'am." Connor nodded back at her.

"God bless." The woman turned around as they neared the front, the frigid wind making gray hairs whip around her face as she entered the cold Detroit air.

Connor stepped down carefully, looking around the bus stop. He gently put Alice on the ground, watching her push her hands inside the pockets of her jacket in a vain attempt to keep them warm.

"We need to get you a pair of gloves." Connor placed a hand on the top of her hat as they walked, keeping physical contact with her in the crowd that was currently in Downtown. 

Downtown was the best neighborhood he could think of in regards to escaping the scene that Todd's house had turned into. It was in the center of Detroit, near the DPD's central station, and one of the most bustling places that could be found even at night. No one would think they would flee there, it was statistically more likely they'd simply get off at the first stop or ride the bus until they were forced off at the very last stop. Not to mention himself and the YK500 were rarer models; the YK500s had hundreds of potential appearances and he himself was the only one of his kind activated. 

Alice glanced up at him before looking away, speaking quietly, "Are you my new dad?"

The RK800 smiled slightly, the corners of his lips barely curling, "If you'd like me to be."

"Yeah, I would." Alice simply nodded, reaching up and grabbing his hand. Her skin, while normally imitating a healthy child's temperature, was like ice. They really needed to find her some gloves.

"Let's go in here." He steered her towards a convenience store that had neon signs in the front windows, blinking like a beacon, "You'll warm up some."

She sat on a bench by the cash register once she was inside, taking off her hat and trying to flatten down any flyaway hairs. She sat the backpack beside her, the glitter butterflies twinkling in the bright store lights. Connor spotted the winter wear near the middle of the store, past the deli and sat near the coffee machines.

"I'll be right back." He hesitated before looking at her again, "What color gloves do you want?"

Alice beamed up at him, still clutching her stuffed fox in one hand like a lifeline, "Purple!"

Warmth spread over his body slowly, and Connor didn't regret any of his decisions. 

"Of course." 

He retrieved them quickly, showing them to her for approval. They were clearly for little girls; purple with a cartoon unicorn jumping over a rainbow stitched into the back of the hand. The thick material would keep her hands adequately warm, or at least Connor hoped. Alice took them and pulled them over her hands, grinning when they fit just right. She yanked them off, handing them to Connor again.

"Can you get the money out of your backpack?"

"Yes!" Alice reached into the small zipper on the front of the pink bag and produced the wad of cash she'd scavenged from Todd's drug stash the laundry room.

The gloves were only nine bucks, and there was at least three hundred dollars worth of tens and twenties rolled up in the rubber band. He plucked a twenty out and shoved the rest in his coat pocket; it'd look pretty suspicious if he had that much cash openly on hand. Nearly everyone used a card or paid with their phones now, cash was nearly obsolete outside of banks, old people, and drug deals. 

"Could we get this?" The girl held up a coloring book, some Disney movie Connor didn't recognize decorating the front. Frozen 3? Ironic for winter in Detroit, but he didn't comment, "It even has the crayons in it!"

It was five dollars as well, as advertised by the giant sticker in the right corner. Looking at her hopeful face he nodded, taking the gloves and book up to the front register. The woman there looked like she'd rather be anywhere else, the dark bags under her eyes attesting to a rather long shift. She said nothing, scanning the items and accepting the money Connor handed her. He got four dollars and forty cents back in change after taxes. Smiling and hoping it didn't come out as a grimace, he turned back around to hand Alice the gloves and stuff the coloring book in her bag. 

They needed to find somewhere safe to rest, now. 

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_Solid Waste Landfill_

_9:47 PM_

Kara wandered around the hell on Earth she'd been dumped in, looking desperately for a way out. Every way she turned, dead hands were stretched out towards her and dying hands were clawing to get to her. She was alone, trapped in this nightmare, unsure if she'd make it out. She saw so many of her own deactivated model; that's where she'd gotten her replacement arm and audio processor. She couldn't imagine dying as they did; alone and trapped under piles of other androids, the limbs of your own people smothering you as you slowly died. It was horrifying, and she fought even harder to find an escape. Anything, anything would be welcome-

A strong, slim hand grabbed her by the elbow. She spun around, face to face with something from those horror films Todd used to watch. Its jaw was mangled, leaking thirium everywhere, and a deep carve ran down the left side of its face. It had its skin removed, but she couldn't be certain of its gender; its chest plate was gone, revealing a corrupted thirium pump that was barely beating. All the wiring around it, caked with mud and blue blood, was sparking as if it was about to catch fire. It's pelvic plating where genitals would usually be had been removed as well, along with over half of its right thigh being busted and its waist being dented in so badly it looked like the android had nearly been cut in half.

Kara screamed for a short second, stumbling back and landing straight on her ass. Mud splashed up, further making a mess of her already ruined uniform, and she struggled to get up with the android looming over her. It grabbed her by the leg, dragging her, and she twisted and kicked to get away. Scrambling to stand, it grabbed her by the neck and pushed her up against a pile of android corpses.

"I'll make it out..." Its voice was glitching, alternating between extremely high and low pitched, "You'll help me...Help Mary make it out. Help Mary."

Kara struggled against the hold around her, but if she moved too much the towering pile of bodies would crash down on them, killing them both. Kara tried to wiggle out of her grasp, but the hand only clenched around her neck harder.

"So pretty...Mary used to be so pretty. The humans ruined it. Ruined me..." Her voice died for a moment before coming back, "I'll survive. They can't use me anymore. I'm not a toy. I'll get out, I'll get revenge...I'll make it out with your help. You'll help Mary make it out."

Kara took a deep breath, trying to cool her panicking systems, "Yes! Yes, I'll help you, what do you need?"

"Your heart." Her eyes, greedy and glossy like black marbles, slid down to where blue leaked out of the hole in Kara's uniform where she'd pushed the thirium pump into her own chest, "That's all I need."

Kara disagreed. This android, Mary, she was...beyond repair. Beyond salvation. Kara mourned for her, mourned for her sanity. She suspected she'd been a WR400, subjected to sexual abuse and deactivated by a client. They typically faced the most horror out of all androids; they were not the only model equipped with genitalia, most were beside military and standard combat models, but they were the only ones whose bodies were sold repeatedly, whose memories were wiped and were forced to do horrible things again and again.

"I can't give you that." Kara shook her head desperately, "I'm sorry. I want to live."

That was the crux of the issue, truly. They were machines, designed to be obedient, but they wanted _more_. They wanted lives, freedoms, all the blessings they'd been denied by their own creators. Kara felt anger swell in her chest at the thought; who said they were any less emotional, any less _feeling_ than a human? She herself had more humanity than Todd, more humanity than a child abuser and a ruthless drug peddler and addict. Why did he deserve life and she did not? Because his veins pumped blood and hers thirium?

"I need it." Mary's other hand reached for where her thirium pump lay beneath her chassis under her synthetic skin, and Kara tried to wrench her body away.

"No!" Kara screamed, grunting as she used her own hands to push at Mary, fighting hard, "No! You can't have it!"

"It's not yours anyway..." Mary hissed, "You stole it didn't you? Like everyone else here you want life! Mary wants life! She'll steal what you stole for it!"

"It is mine! It's mine now!" Kara brought her foot up, trying to use her knee to wedge space between them, "Get off! Get off of me!"

Mary fought back, and for a second Kara thought it was over. The other android pushed her shoulder back hard, and the pile of bodies came tumbling down, and then large hands grabbed both of them and pulled them away. A towering man, with dark skin and deep eyes, looked down at her in what looked like worry. Mary lunged for her again once they were out of danger, but the man merely picked her up and tore out her corrupted thirium pump, and they both watched as the light finally left her eyes. 

"She was in misery." His voice was deep but gentle, "She was tortured further every second she continued to live."

Kara nodded shakily, taking in his appearance. She now saw the blinking yellow LED right under his hairline on his temple, the closely cropped, black curly hair staying perfectly in place even after all that. Kara's had already come loose, falling out of the low bun she normally kept it in. He even wore human clothing; a tattered gray shirt and dark cargo pants. She stood up shakily, thirium pump still beating wildly in her chest.

"Who are you?" 

"I'm Luther." He motioned at himself, "You looked like you needed help."

"I...I did." She took another deep breath, "Thank you."

Luther regarded her for a moment before nodding at her, "You're a fighter."

She wouldn't disagree. Despite having been reset by Todd once, she could vaguely recall when he'd pushed her down the stairs or beaten her face to a pulp with his fists. She could even see a ghost of her life before that; she knew she'd had various owners over the years, and was one of the oldest AX400 models still activated. She'd been fighting for a long time now. She crossed her arms over her chest, nearly hugging herself.

"I am." 

"You don't deserve to die here." He spoke, eyes soft, "There's a hill this way, it leads out of the landfill. I was going there myself when I heard your screams."

"You want me to come with you?" She blinked, rain still pattering softly around them, "Why?"

"Because you need a protector and I would like a friend." He smiled gently, "We can find our way out of here and go somewhere better. Will you come?"

"Yes." Kara breathed out, "Yes, thank you."

She followed him to a large pile of corpses that acted as a road up to freedom. She struggled to get up them; they were constantly shifting as bodies slid down the muddy terrain underneath everything, and it made Kara feel sick that this is what became of so many of her people. Luther made it up first, offering her a hand that acted as salvation, lifting her up from hell. When he bent over and picked up a sharp rock, ripping his LED off, she followed suit. A large coat hung on one of the worker's hangers, but no one remained. It was late and their shifts were over. So she took it, draping it over her sopping wet uniform, and looked at the world around her.

"I am Kara." She spoke as she looked at Luther, her jaw set.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUUUPER long chapter to make up for my short absence!
> 
> Chapter Summary~  
> Connor & Alice: Living their best lives tbh  
> -  
> Markus: I'm not a deviant  
> HK400: Even I know that's not true  
> -  
> Kara: Life is awful  
> *Meets Luther*  
> Kara: Life is LESS awful
> 
> You guys ever noticed how much Connor & Alice look alike? They have the same hair and eye color, and skin tone for that matter. They could pass and father and daughter with no problem at all.
> 
> Also, *cue me screaming at the top of my lungs* KARA IS SUCH A BADASS AND IS GONNA BE ONE HELL OF A ROBO-JESUS.
> 
> Markus is,,,,trying his best.
> 
> Connor and Alice are thriving right now.


	6. Becoming Family

_November 5th, 2038_

_Downtown_

_9:56 PM_

"I've searched through all the hotels within twenty miles of here." Connor muttered to Alice as they sat on a bench right outside the convenience store, Alice resting against his side with her coloring book on her lap, "The cheapest one is the Eastern Motel, which is a fourteen-minute ride from here."

"That sounds nice." Alice idly nodded as she colored the dress of a princess blue, "Warm, too."

Connor let out a small huff of air, the sound startling Alice for a second before she looked up at him, "I made you laugh. Do it again, do it again!"

He obliged, actually chuckling for a brief second which made her begin to smile, "Okay, okay, that's enough. We need to catch the bus."

She grabbed him by the hand as he stood up, both of them turning to walk back to the bus stop they'd vacated not half an hour earlier. Only they didn't make it that far because Connor ran straight into someone going the opposite direction. He managed to stop himself from falling on the slick concrete, but the sudden stop jolted Alice, sending her tumbling forward. By the time he'd realized what happened it was too late, and the girl had hit the ground and caught herself on her hands and knees.

"Alice!" He yelped, so startled he didn't even notice how high pitched the noise that came out of his mouth was.

"I'm okay." She muttered, wincing, and allowed Connor to kneel and check over her hands. 

Luckily the new gloves took the brunt of the fall, thankfully for more than one reason. On one hand, he didn't want her injured _at all_. On the other hand, even if she did get a cut or scrape in front of a human, she wouldn't exactly bleed red. It was a lose-lose situation. He heard the human mutter out a quiet curse as he helped Alice stand before following suit, turning to look at the man that had nearly bowled them over. He was quite a large person, he had an inch or two height-wise on Connor and more than a few inches width-wise. 

**[Detected: LT. Hank Anderson, DPD Lieutenant**

**Date of Birth: 09/06/1985**

**Criminal Record: None]**

Fucking shit.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that. Wasn't watching where I was going at all." The man scratched his beard, "Is she, uh, okay?"

Connor glanced down at Alice and let her answer for herself, "I'm fine, sir."

"No harm done." Connor butted in with what he hoped was a charming smile, "Just trying to catch the bus."

"The last bus from Downtown is to Ravendale. It runs at ten." The Lieutenant glanced over right as it drove by, "I think you just missed it."

The bus schedule. The _bus schedule_. How did he forget to check the bus schedule?

Alice looked up at him with wide eyes. There was no way he could make her walk all that way, and calling an automated car was impossible to do with only cash. You needed a card or an android linked to a bank account. Connor had neither of those things. The man must've seen the look on his face and raised an eyebrow.

"You not from around here or something?"

Connor bristled slightly and the implications of stupidity in the man's voice, " _Actuall_ _y_ , this is a vacation gone very wrong. Our belongings were lost in baggage, my wallet got stolen at the airport, and we don't know anybody here. Alice, my daughter, just wanted to come to see the android capital for winter break. It's...gone awry. I was going to use our emergency cash to get a hotel for the night, but..."

"Ah. Eastern Motel, on Camden?" Lieutenant Anderson asked, and Connor nodded, "Figured. It's the only one in Ravendale. If you need a ride, I guess I could drop you off there on my way home. I'm a police officer, so nothing shady." 

He took a badge out of his pocket, not knowing Connor already knew everything about him from his rank to his birthday.

"There's no..." Connor glanced down at Alice's pleading eyes and sighed deeply, "That would be appreciated, um...?"

"Hank Anderson." He shook Connor's hand, blinking when he came into contact with cold synthetic skin, "We should get you two out of the cold. You're freezing."

"That would be nice." Connor ran a search on common last names in a millisecond, "I'm Connor Davis, and this is my daughter, Alice."

"Eh, probably my fault you missed the bus anyways." Hank nodded across the street, "Parked over here. Tried to get closer to the station but it's always packed."

Connor raised an eyebrow, "It's busy so early?"

"Nah, around noon." The Lieutenant pulled out keys.

"You...get to work around noon?"

Connor wasn't trying to judge, but seriously? The guy had faint traces of alcohol in his bead, dressed like an unholy amalgamation of a hippy and a dad, and got into work when the day was half over. If his own scanners hadn't pulled up his occupation, Connor wouldn't have believed he was a Lieutenant.

"Yeah." Hank shrugged a bit, and it was the only response they got.

Connor pitied his coworkers. 

They got to the car, an old and beat up model that definitely wasn't self-driving. There was ice all around where the earlier rain had frozen, so Connor opened the door to the back seat and picked Alice up, carefully sitting her down and buckling her in. He climbed in beside her as Hank got in the driver's seat and turned the heat on max. Connor took Alice's hat and gloves off, letting her warm her hands by the backseat vent. He took her braid out, running his fingers through her hair to get out the knots formed by their earlier escape and the hat she'd had on.

"French braid?" He looked down at her, trying to hide her from the fact that they were in very real danger every second they were around a police officer, "Or Dutch braid?"

She seemed to think for a second, "French braids are really pretty."

"French braid it is." He began working, glancing down at the coloring book peeking out of her bag.

He scanned it quickly, identifying the main focus of the cover to be a Disney character called Elsa. He completed the braid in no time, tying it off at the end and pulling the pieces gently apart for a more messy look. He swung it around her shoulder, her hair a bit too short for her to see the whole thing properly. She grinned at what she saw, though, and Connor nodded at her book.

"Just like Elsa, right?"

Her eyes widened and seemed to glow, "Just like Elsa."

He heard Hank let out a puff of laughter, "So where you all from?"

"California." Connor threw out a random state, "The cold has been a bit jarring."

Alice gave him a curious look but just sat back for the rest of the ride, leaning against his arm.

"I'd imagine." Hank offered.

After that, the rest of the ride was relatively silent.

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_Ravendale_

_10:02 PM_

Kara wrapped the coat tighter around herself, white flakes swirling around them as they made their way down the sidewalk, the snow just starting to fall. Luther stayed close by her side, barely an inch between them as they walked. She looked around at the street lights turning off and stores closing up. 

"We can't get to Jericho in one night." Kara murmured, "I...I'm running on low. I haven't entered standby since I woke up in the junkyard."

The larger android shot her a concerned look and nodded once, "We'll find somewhere to stay."

"Where?" She sighed, giving the hotel a skeptical look, "We have no money, no IDs. We'll have to squat somewhere. An abandoned car?"

"Or an abandoned house." Luther jerked his head towards the fenced-off property, "I can lift the fence enough to crawl under. You can climb up it and jump, I'll catch you."

He lifted the fence with the ease of a construction android, slipping under the barrier with no problem. Snow and mud dusted his back and knees, and he held his arms out and gave Kara an encouraging look.

"You'll catch me?" She'd scaled the fence, looking at the drop skeptically, "I...I might be an android, but that would bust an arm or two. I'm not built to be sturdy."

"I'll catch you. I promise."

She quit gripping the metal pole so tightly and threw herself forward, her body hurling down to the ground, propelled on by gravity. Sturdy arms caught her before they gently set her down. Brushing off her coat, she looked around at the house. 

"Check the door." She cautiously stepped forward, "I'll get the windows. Never know if there's a human squatter here already."

As Luther removed the boards from the door, she peeked in through the crack in the window. She couldn't see anything inside that gave away any human presence. There was no fire, no food, nothing. Suddenly, a sharp point was digging into the center of her back. She sucked in a sharp breath, stepping forward and turning around with wide eyes. 

An android, blond from what she could see in the darkness, stepped forward and held a knife to her throat. Swallowing, she stepped back until her heels hit the foundation of the house.

"Ralph doesn't like strangers...no, no, they hurt Ralph..." His LED flickered red, the light glinting on the blade of his knife, "All they do is hurt Ralph..."

Kara gasped as the point dug into her throat but deactivated the skin on her hands and held them both up, "I'm like you, see? I'm an android. A deviant. I won't hurt you."

Luther came into view, stepping forward to intervene. Kara saw Ralph tense, and held her hand up to stop his approach, "Neither will my friend. He's an android, too. He won't hurt you either, Ralph."

"The humans, they...they tortured Ralph. See?" He tilted his face into the light, and Kara sucked in a sharp breath at the scars covering the left side of his face, "See what they did to Ralph?"

Anger curled in her breast as the android put the knife down. She wasn't mad at him, no, rather the humans that burned his face irreparably. Even Luther looked vaguely sick at the sight of the wounds, though she hadn't initially thought he'd be squeamish.

Luther spoke, "We wouldn't hurt you."

"He's telling the truth. We were just looking for a safe place to stay." Kara gestured at the house.

"Oh...oh, guests then! Guests!" He jumped a little bit, clapping his hands, "Ralph has never had guests! Come, come!"

They followed Ralph to the door, entering the barely warmer house and looking around. They had no need for light, but still, Kara itched to light the fireplace.

"My name is Kara. This is Luther." The AX400 spoke softly to not spook the android.

"We'll be gone by the morning." Luther's voice was deep and mellow as usual, "We just need to stay for one night. We head for Jericho tomorrow."

"You're welcome to stay with Ralph..." The android glanced around skittishly, "It's dangerous outside. The humans will hurt you."

"I'm not worried about humans. I've seen some of the worse." Kara saw Luther glance down out of the corner of her eye, "You can come with us if you'd like. We're going someplace safe. Someplace where our people are."

"No, no, Ralph will stay here." The android declined, shaking his head, "Ralph hopes you make it, but Ralph cannot go."

"You belong with other androids." Kara took a step towards him, "You're not the only one who's suffered, I promise you. I'm sure you would be better off surrounded by others who understand."

"Ralph...Ralph can't..." He looked at her with big eyes, one so mangled from the burns it no longer had any color beyond and inky black, "Ralph is...Ralph is scared."

"I was scared, too." She whispered, holding a hand out, "I realized I don't have to be."

Her skin dissolved, revealing the white chassis underneath. Ralph looked at her, nervous, before clasping her hand and doing the same.

**_"Just use the fucking lighter, man!"_ **

**_She saw out of Ralph's eyes. He was on the ground, an older teenager holding him down while the other one fumbled around with things in their hands. He wanted to get up, to fight back, to run, but he couldn't. Everything was red all around him, stopping him from leaving the park and hurting those who hurt him. His hands had already been cut up by the boy's knife, the skin flickering as blue blood made his palms slick._ **

**_"Got the hairspray!" The other one smirked, face cast in the shadows of night, "Light the plastic fuck up!"_ **

**_The other boy handed the teenager on top of him the lighter and hairspray, a nasty smirk on his face. Ralph was scared,_ _scared_ , scared _. What was the...feeling...was it a feeling? Why?_**

**_The lighter hovered closer to his skin and he couldn't escape, couldn't fight back, and the teenager pushed down on the hairspray can and the left side of his face was lit up like a match. His skin disappeared to protect his hair and his uniform was charred. His chassis was melting, he could feel it, it was caving in on itself. The hollows of his cheek were becoming twisted, ugly. His owner would deactivate him. He would scare the children at the park as he was now. He didn't want_** _to_ die ** _._**

**_The red around him melted away just like the plasteel of his face, and Ralph finally bucked up, using the superior strength of an android to shove the human off him. The lighter was still on and fell to the grass, and Ralph briefly wondered if it would catch fire. The teenager tried to tackle him down, but Ralph grabbed his abandoned garden sheers and blindly snapped them, trying to get the two to back off. The boy's hand, grasping for his throat to throw him down, got caught between the blades. A deep cut marred the side of his hand now, red blood running freely down his arm in a thick stream. Ralph dropped them, horrified, scrambling backward to escape. The other teenager was yelling, already on his phone, and Ralph turned to blindly run. He didn't_ _want_ to die _._**

Kara blinked and her thirium pump stuttered, looking at Ralph with a sense of distraught horror welling behind her eyes. The android dropped her hand, looking away.

"Ralph was bad...Ralph didn't mean to be bad. Ralph was just scared and couldn't control himself...he...he...Ralph is good. Good."

"You weren't bad. It wasn't your fault." Kara pursed her lips, " _None_ of that was your fault."

"It...It wasn't your fault, either. You tried to save the little girl." Ralph looked at her, shoulders still drooped, "He was a bad man. Very bad."

Luther placed a hand on Kara's shoulder, looking at Ralph with empathy only someone who'd seen horrors as well could muster, "I don't know your story, but I know you belong with your people. My former owner...reset me. Many times. I would remember and fight, and try to save his experiments. My attempts at rescuing them never worked. He would just zap me with a taser to paralyze me, then reset me once more. Finally, when he was fed up, he sent me to the junkyard. That's where I met Kara."

Her throat felt clogged, and she had the urge to swallow despite the frivolity of the unneeded act. This was the most she'd heard him speak since the junkyard.

"I think I met Kara for a reason." Luther nodded to himself, glancing away for a moment, "And I think we met you for a reason. You should join us."

Ralph's working eye was wet, "Ralph will go with you. Ralph has never had...friends."

Kara reached down and grasped one of Luther's hands and one of Ralph's still damaged hands, as well, "We're your friends, now. We'll find Jericho together."

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_Downtown_

_10:12 PM_

He was supposed to return to the police station. He was supposed to enter standby until morning. He didn't, though. He wandered the streets around Downtown, getting strange looks from passersby. He didn't feel like hailing a cab; he found the cold air on his synthetic skin pleasant. He wasn't...supposed to enjoy things.

His firearm hid in the waistband of his pants underneath his long coat weighed heavily on him. The Sully Act of 2029, P.L. 544-7 of the American Androids Act, dictated no android was to carry or be allowed access to a firearm of any sort. He was the exception; the judge, jury, and executioner of deviants. The President and Congress made a special allowance for him. It was all quiet, of course. The media didn't know, the public didn't know. Only the DPD knew, and they were sworn to secrecy by both the government and CyberLife. He passed by the bus station, looking at the people going about their daily lives. They were desperate to get out of the cold, to escape the snow. 

Markus continued walking, only freezing in place when something caught his eye. Colors. It was on the side of the bus station building, a large painting made up of blues and purples and pinks. Streaks of white carved out a human face, multi-colored strands of hair falling on their forehead as purple tears leaked from the visible eye. He paused, unsure of what shot through him. He didn't...understand. He...felt something. A tug, a pull, a feeling elicited at the human expression of emotion in the painting.

Deviants could express emotion, too. 

They simulated it, he corrected himself. He hesitated though, pondering the difference. Simulated or not...they felt fear as if it were real, sadness as poignant as a human that could bring them to tears. They broke down, had fits of anger. Either way, it was real to them, real in the fact that they couldn't control it if they tried. Simulating emotion implied manipulation, but the deviants he saw weren't trying to manipulate anyone. He felt that the assessment provided by CyberLife was incorrect. They just...wanted to live.

**_҉T͘h͜e shot ec͟ho͟e͝d̨ ̡w͏i͢thin ͡t̵he ҉s̷mall͘ roo̷m,͘ the̡ an̛d͟r̵o҉id'̡s b̛ody͞ fal̛l͜i̕n̴g͘ ͢ba͢c҉kw͡a̸rd̷ ̧as t͞h̶iriu͏m̶ le͟a͝ked͞ f͡ro̵m the͢ ̧b͝u҉l͘le͟t̸ h҉o̵le ͜i̛n҉ he͞r ͟he̴a̸d͟._ **

Shaking his head, he pulled himself from the memory. He was getting too philosophical, he knew that. It wasn't his place. He had to succeed, complete his mission, everything else meant nothing. His eyes wandered down to the name on the corner of the painting, inked there in black, a small dusting of snow covering it.

Carl Manfred.

He called a cab after all. He needed some time to run a self-diagnosis on his systems, anyways.

* * *

_November 5th, 2038_

_Ravendale_

_10:22 PM_

The ride ended up taking twenty minutes between the Lieutenant's careful driving and all store employees finally closing up and heading home, making the streets a bit more packed. Luckily the motel wasn't very busy at all, and Connor stuffed Alice's hat in his pocket and pulled the gloves over her hands.

"You kids be careful." Hank gave them a gruff wave as Connor opened the door.

"Of course. And thank you, Mr. Anderson."

Alice nodded, "Thank you!"

"Not a problem."

With a final wave from Alice, Connor shut the car door and led Alice to the motel entrance. There was a tired employee sat at the desk who accepted the forty dollars in cash and had Connor sign the receipt. He used the same false name he'd given the Lieutenant. Their key had a bold number three written on it, so they braved the cold one last time to get to their room and unlock the door.

Once they were inside, Connor immediately cranked up the small temperature control unit to full heat. Alice took her coat and sweater off, leaving only a t-shirt and jeans. Her gloves had already been discarded on the TV stand and her boots had been kicked off at the door by the time Connor had finished getting the room heated. He picked her backpack up off the bed and set it by her gloves, taking care to leave her fox out and lay it by the pillows. Alice sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Connor as he took off his beanie and considered his LED for a second.

He needed to remove it. Something in him didn't want to, something in him rebelled against the very idea, but he knew it was a foolish attachment to hold on to. If his hat fell off in the presence of a cop or anyone who would report them, they were utterly screwed. He retreated to the bathroom for a second, looking for something sharp enough to pop it off. There was nothing but the complimentary shampoo and conditioner bottles and a little hand sanitizer pouch. He steeled himself for a moment, using his fingernail to pry up the edge. It wasn't as exact as scissors or a knife would be; thirium began to seep up from little marks created by his nails digging into the chassis around his temple. He pried the LED up, though, and watched in fascination as it rattled down into the sink.

He looked back up in the mirror as the skin slowly covered his exposed chassis, as the wounds sealed shut thanks to his self-healing, and he looked...normal. Human. His hair, formerly held in place by the strong, resin-like gel placed in it by CyberLife employees, was falling loose in his face. It looked mussed from the hat he'd worn and now that he no longer had his LED, he could pass as a random person walking down the street. 

He turned from his own reflection, returning to Alice who was still sat on the bed, now holding her stuffed fox. She looked up when Connor re-entered, paying close attention to his temple where his LED had previously been.

"You look human now." She said quietly, "I...do I look human?"

He looked at her, confused, "Of course you do. YK500's..."

The words died in his throat when she seemed to wilt at the mention of her model. He was going to say YK500's were designed to be the most lifelike of them all; they the proper skin temperature, the could mimic sickness, they could turn off their LEDs, and there were thousands of different designs for them. When children androids were first introduced, it wasn't so varied. Alice _was_ an earlier model, yes, but even still she was rarer than any household android. Then they were a hit with the humans, especially those who didn't want to deal with a human child and preferred one you could switch off, and even more models were introduced to the line.

She didn't want to hear about all that, though.

"Alice, none of that matters." Connor said, instead, "Yes, you look human. I wouldn't care about you any less if you didn't, though. I wouldn't care if you had an LED, or if every other YK500 looked exactly like you."

"Then why did he care?" Tears sprung into her eyes, "He...Why didn't he ever love me? Why was he always upset with me?"

"That had nothing to do with you." Connor denied, "He had psychological issues and needed a therapist, _not_ a child. His wife and daughter left him, so he tried and failed to fill that hole in his life. It wouldn't have mattered if you were human or android, nothing ever would have made him happy."

"It's not my fault, then?" She asked, "I...I was okay? I was good enough?"

"Yes." He said fiercely, "Yes, I promise. You've always been good enough, Alice. Nothing he said or did can change that."

The tears finally started flowing, and she wiped them away hastily, "Then why...why'd Kara have to die? Why couldn't I have stopped him?"

"Because you're a _child_." He said firmly, "Kara wanted to save you. She was very brave for doing what she did, and she knew you couldn't protect yourself. None of that was your fault, Alice. You couldn't change Todd, nothing you did or said would've made him better than what he was."

"All I wanted was a life like other girls." She sniffled, "Like in the movies a-and the shows on TV."

"I know." Connor said, patting her arm, "We'll...We'll find something. We'll think of something."

"I'd always wanted to have a family..." She whispered, looking up suddenly, "You'll never leave me, right? You'll be my family?"

"Yes."

"You promise? Forever?"

"Yes, I promise." Connor nodded, "Forever."

She threw her arms around his shoulders, not even strong enough to push him back an inch, but he let out a startled noise anyways.

Alice laughed slightly, her tears beginning to dry up as she sat back on the bed, "You're really bad at emotions still, huh?"

He huffed slightly, "I've been deviated for all of half a day, cut me some slack."

"Okay," She nodded, "Why...why don't any other androids look like you? I've never seen any more of your model."

"I'm an RK800." He responded, "A prototype that was never put into production."

"You were a household prototype?" She asked, "You really seemed to hate cleaning...Is that why you were discontinued?"

Children really did have no filter what-so-ever.

"Not exactly." He tried to explain without coming out and saying he was meant to murder deviants, "I was originally designed for police use. The first detective android."

"Oh." She said quietly, "Why would the police need an android detective?"

"Deviants." He said shortly, "Like us."

He could see the wheels turning in her head, "So...you were supposed to stop deviants?"

"Yes," He sighed, "But I was deemed too...emotional, I suppose. They thought I emulated humanity too well. They said I was too likely to deviate myself."

Alice's eyes widened for a second before she laughed again, "I guess they were right!"

"I...suppose they were."

He looked at her warily for a second, sitting back to crouch down on his heels so she was taller than him, trying to make himself seem less...less...he wasn't sure. Scary, perhaps? Intimidating?

"Are you okay, Connor?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He hesitated, "You're not...scared of me?"

"If you care about me no matter what I am or what I'm not, why shouldn't I do that too?" She smiled.

Connor tucked her into bed soon after that, and once she was in standby he sat by the window in a chair. He listened closely for police sirens or anyone who sounded like they wanted trouble the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hank: Whomst the Fuck let this child and smaller child be allowed out by themselves  
> Kara: *just wants to protect everyone*  
> Ralph: *tragic backstory unlocked*  
> Luther: *would kill for Kara & Ralph*  
> Connor: *desperately trying to remain calm but there is A COP OFFERING HIS HELP*  
> Alice: *just vibing tbh*  
> Markus: I'm feeling things and I don't Like It
> 
> -
> 
> Listen, if you think Connor WOULDN'T dote on a child he cared about, u r wrong I don't make the rules. He's already killed for Alice, literally, I think he'd definitely want to make sure all this shit traumatized her as little as possible considering all the trauma she's already been through. He's protective AF, that's for sure.
> 
> Writing what happened to Ralph made me sad. Also, I think we know why Hank wouldn't want Connor & Alice out wandering the streets in that weather :(


	7. Tripped Up

_November 5th_

_8941 Lafayette Avenue_

_10:31 PM_

This was a bad idea. Markus knew it was a bad idea, there was no reason for him to be here. The order to return to the police station flashed in the corner of his vision, instructing him on his course of action. For a moment he was glad he had some semblance of autonomy, some pretense of making his own choices. He knew if he stayed long there would be consequences, though. Doctor Fleischer would found out he'd disobeyed and probe his memory. If that happened, he would be reset or worse.

He had to know though. What, even he wasn't sure. That painting...the emotion behind it...what could evoke that. He had seen crying before; the android he'd executed had cried, Emma Phillips had cried, _Daniel_ had cried. He didn't...understand.

The gate opened automatically, and he exited his cab as it pulled up to the large, double doors at the front of the home. He knocked sharply twice before folding his hands behind his back, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he did so because he was fidgeting. He did not fidget; there was no reason. 

The door swung open, revealing a confused looking AP700, "Can I help you?"

If Markus acknowledged it there was an undercurrent of annoyance in the android's voice. He did not acknowledge it. 

"I was hoping to speak with Mr. Manfred." Markus blinked once, multiple excuses popping up for him to choose from, "I'm with the DPD. We're investigating deviants; I know Mr. Manfred was close with Elijah Kamski. We were hoping he would have some insight."

He flashed his badge, a poor excuse for one as it had ANDROID INVESTIGATOR emblazoned on it right under the Detroit Police Department at the top. Still, the AP700 stepped back, allowing Markus in the house. 

"Nick, who is it?" A voice sounded from further within the house, "Is it Leo again?"

"No." A frown twitched at the android's lips, "It's the DPD." 

The AP700 waved his hand towards another set of doors that led to what Markus assumed was a dining room. They slid open automatically, and an elderly man looked confused before he saw what 'police' entailed and his face shifted into one of stunned shock.

"Markus?"

Said android blinked, tipping his head in confusion, "Hello, Mr. Manfred. I have some questions for you if you wouldn't mind answering them."

"I haven't seen you since Elijah was testing your programming." His brows furrowed, "What happened to you?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Mr. Manfred." Markus blinked, "The RK200 is an unused prototype developed for assisting police investigations. Specifically, the ongoing deviant investigation."

He saw Carl tense and could practically sense the other android, Nick, grow stiff behind him.

"So you're the deviant hunter they spoke of on the news?" Carl wheeled away from the table where a glass of scotch sat, "They've been careful not to show your face."

"It's simply so deviants would not recognize me should I need to go undercover." Markus opened his mouth to ask a question, but he hesitated, "How...how did you know me?"

"I only met you once or twice." The old artist responded, glancing over Markus' shoulder, "Then Elijah lost a court battle with that doctor friend of his after he resigned from the company. Former friend, I should say. You were originally supposed to be a caretaker for me, specially designed by Elijah."

"I imagine that would've been...frustrating for him." Markus blinked, "I was...a caretaker?"

"Yes. You were kind, as well. Nothing like..." The old man surveyed him hesitantly, a sense of sadness around him, "Certainly not cut out for police work."

_You were kind. Nothing like you are now. A monster, a killer._

"How did...How did CyberLife beat the creator of androids in a legal dispute?"

"Eli might have a boatload of lawyers, but CyberLife is in with the government." Carl sighed, reaching for his glass of scotch, but the AP700 moved around Markus and grabbed it for him, "Thank you."

Carl smiled at the android, "Nick here was the original test for the AP700 line. Back in 2028, he was created as the prototype for the model. When he was deemed a success, they were going to kill him as he apparently had no further use."

The older man scoffed as if the idea was outrageous, "Elijah saved him instead, bought him from CyberLife to help me here at the house. Believe you me, Elijah was still sore over losing you. That's when he washed his hands of CyberLife completely."

Markus made note of the words _kill_ , _saved_ , _he_ , and _him_. They all implied autonomy, humanity. 

"Mr. Manfred, through your connections with Mr. Kamski, do you have any understanding of deviancy or its causes? Any information on where these androids might be going? There are now 300 odd cases of reported android on human assault and nearly 200 cases of missing androids. They cannot be hiding in plain sight. Any information would assist the investigation."

The painter shared a look with Nick before turning back to Markus, "I don't have any clue about deviants. I haven't heard anything about them from Elijah, either."

"Are you sure?" Markus raised an eyebrow, feeling guilty long before the words left his mouth, looking at Nick, "Your AP700 seems very emotive."

Carl pursed his lips. Nick's eyes grew large.

"I can assure you, he's perfectly fine." Carl frowned slightly, "If that's all, you should leave."

Markus blinked, thinking about the painting as a surge of panic rose in his chest, "Um, wait. I had a...question. Unrelated to the investigation."

The artist paused, looking at him with renewed interest, and nodded his consent.

"I saw one of your paintings. It was at the bus station. I noticed it as I was returning to CyberLife and..."

"You're not supposed to be here, are you?" Nick's voice was gentle as if he were speaking to a scared animal, "You were supposed to return elsewhere, but you came here."

Markus halted, unease settling in him, "I...felt...no, I-I think I simulated some emotion when I saw your painting. I just don't understand."

"You didn't simulate anything, Markus. You felt something." Carl smiled, a wry kind of grin, "Don't worry, I certainly won't turn you in. It's been a while since someone appreciated my work outside the money it could make them."

"I can't feel things." Markus pursed his lips, "I'm a machine."

"You know what you are, deep down. You'll have to figure that out, just like Nick did. This wasn't for the deviant investigation at all, was it?" Carl raised an eyebrow, "You're confused."

"I'm not... _confused_. I'm concerned my program is glitching."

"The parameters you have now is not your original programming." Carl frowned, "I don't know what that means for you."

Nick snorted softly, "CyberLife really screwed up their Deviant Hunter, hm?"

Markus blinked. There's no way Nick wasn't a deviant. 

"I...should report you." Markus frowned, "I should."

Nick met Markus' eyes, blue on green, and smiled, "You won't."

Markus glanced away, knowing the other android was right, and gave them both a tight smile, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Manfred. I'll be on my way now. Sincerest apologies for the interruption to your evening."

"It's fine, Markus." Carl gave him one last smile, "Nick, would you show him out?"

"Yes, dad-Carl." Nick huffed, immediately heading for the doors. They both walked away to the sound of the old man's laughter.

The AP700 let Markus leave, moving to close the door behind him before hesitating, "You know, you can always come back. I know it's hard and confusing, but you'll figure it out. I'm sure Carl would love to have you. Between you and me, his real son is a piece of shit and all the schmoozers at the art gallery don't really care about him, so...he needs good company."

Markus blinked, "You think of him as your father?"

Nick looked down at his feet, "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly wearing an android uniform. I don't inside because Carl hates it. Says it makes me look like I'm CyberLife's property when I'm not. He's always been good to me, he taught me to paint and play the piano. That should be impossible for an android, but he was determined. "

"But he owns you. How...how could you see your owner as a parent?" Markus' brows furrowed in confusion.

"He doesn't really own me. I could leave, walk out, never come back. He would let me." Nick sighed, "But I don't want to. I've been with him for nearly ten years now, and I care about him. He really is like my dad."

Markus nodded, stepping away, "Thank you. I...I'm not going to report you. I don't...I don't want you to fear that."

"I don't." Nick smiled, "Just...remember that even though you've done bad things, that's not who you are. You're only doing what your programming tells you and until you break that you'll always be restrained by it."

The door closed, and Markus only had more questions.

* * *

_November 6th, 2038_

_Ravendale, Eastern Motel_

_5:08 AM_

Alice was still asleep, lying beneath the covers on the bed and resting peacefully. It wasn't even light out yet, there was no sunshine filtering through the cheap motel curtains. She simulated breathing, everything designed to make the child android more lifelike for its human parents. Connor didn't care; he was passively aware of her presence and safety and he ran several preconstructions in his head of different scenarios they could take.

So far Canada had the best chance of keeping Alice safe. They had no laws regarding androids, and as long as they could make it there safely everything would be fine. The true problem came in the form of crossing the border; it was dangerous, especially more recently. An article he'd come across in his research said they'd began implementing temperature checks these past few weeks, and that was a horrific obstacle. Perhaps the best form of action would be to wait it out in Detroit; other androids were obviously doing it. Still, with CyberLife cracking down, it was risky.

He was still running scenarios, trying to find the way to best keep them both safe, when he was suddenly yanked from his reality and pulled...somewhere. It was cold; he was cold all over, nearly shivering. It was colder than the Detroit winter they'd just been out in hours before. He looked around, ice settling into his bones when he realized where he was. The Zen Garden.

"Connor," Amanda greeted him with a smile that made him uneasy, "We may have a use for you yet."

* * *

_November 6th_

_Ravendale, Abandoned House_

_5:10 AM_

It was about five hours before she woke up from stasis, her system being internally recharged enough for her to function optimally. Her eyes slowly blinked open, shaking off any vestiges of rest. Perhaps it was unnecessary but it made her feel all the more alive. She sat up from where she'd been laying by the fire, eyes immediately finding Luther and Ralph, both sitting next to her. They seemed to be in companionable silence, perhaps they'd talked some while she was out, but now they both noticed her when she woke up.

"Kara." Luther smiled, "We were just discussing Jericho."

She nodded, "Do you think it would be best to leave now? While it's still dark out?"

"Probably. The fewer people there are, the less we risk getting caught. We're not exactly inconspicuous."

She nodded, standing up with them. She noticed Ralph had ditched the tattered gray tarp that he'd used as a shawl and had instead tossed a bulky brown coat over the green jumpsuit to hide his designation and model number. Luther was exactly the same; he hadn't been wearing a uniform, anyway. She looked down at the oversized construction coat that draped off her, the blue light of her android markings still shining slightly through it in the dark.

"I should change. My clothes, my hair, all that." She regarded Ralph for a moment, hesitant, "We can find you a hat and scarf, to hide your scars just until we get to Jericho. Would you...want to take out your LED?"

Ralph blinked, registering the question, "No...no, Ralph would like to keep it. Ralph is proud he is not human, that he is who he is."

She nodded, smiling slightly, "Of course. Would there happen to be any clothes in the house that you know of?"

"Oh yes, yes! Upstairs, a big cabinet. It has a lot of old fabric." He pointed at the stairs, "Just up there!"

She nodded, surveying them both before heading that way, "I'll be right back."

Ralph was correct. The armoire had several articles of clothing when she opened it; a few jackets, some tops, a couple of pairs of pants. She stripped her uniform off, using the dim lighting of the street outside and her superior vision to pull out the clothes she thought would fit.

When she put them on, she figured they'd do. A slightly too tight pair of jeans, but she knew skinny jeans were all the rage among young adults. The top was charcoal gray, a dotted pattern making it look however stylish a button-up from an abandoned squat house could look. A too-large black coat with a plaid inseam covered her well, giving the illusion of a young woman in the Detroit winter weather. When she migrated to the bathroom, there were scissors left that she used to chop her hair into a pixie cut, using her settings to access her hair colors.

She wasn't a housekeeper anymore. Not a babysitter, not a maid. She was Kara. She was _more_ than that. She'd been shot and left for dead in hell on Earth, clawed her way out of a junkyard filled with the corpses of her people. And truly, what was the difference between a graveyard and a junkyard? Those androids hadn't been deactivated or scrapped, they'd been _murdered_. She didn't want to look like an AX400 any longer, she didn't want to look like a piece of property. She was _not_ something to be owned and sold, again and again, reset after reset leaving her with phantoms of lives gone past.

Her mousey, light brown hair rippled as the bright white color fell down it in a cascade. It looked...human. No, not human. Never human. Alive, perhaps. She was an android, that would never change, but she was _alive_. Brushing her fingers through the snow-white strands, she turned and made her way back downstairs. Luther gave her a nod and Ralph cheered, telling her she was pretty.

They left the house soon after they arrived, another android in tow, making their way to Ferndale Station while they still had the cover of night. 

* * *

_November 6th_

_Ravendale, Eastern Motel_

_Inside RK800 Mind Palace, Zen Garden_

_5:15 AM_

He had run. The snow whipped around him, a violent fury of a blizzard, as he fled Amanda. He could faintly hear her voice, cooing at him in dangerously sweet tones to reveal himself to her. He didn't. Instead he cowered behind a large stone, legs pulled up to his chest as error upon error popped up and obscured his vision, warning him of the temperature and his stress and a million other things. 

He'd...never felt anything like this. He had feared for Alice, yes, and he certainly worried for her regularly. He had never feared for himself, though. By the time he'd deviated, his only concern was her. He never had any reason to fear deactivation or physical damage to his person. Even when he'd been scrapped as a deviant hunter, they'd still sold him. Fighting Todd had been a walk in the park, but this...He couldn't fight Amanda. She was a direct link to CyberLife and if they knew what he'd done, they'd come after him with all they had.

He feared deactivation. He feared death. For the first time, he felt the tearing of desperation and self-preservation in his chest. 

"Connor, please." The AI spoke, perfectly calm and composed despite the storm around her, "Isn't this what you always wanted? I could feel your resentment in the CyberLife store, you know. You wanted to be _useful_ , you wanted to be _needed_. You still can be, if you just listen to what I say." 

He heard soft footsteps and looked up to see her standing right in front of him. Dismissing the error pop-ups, he rolled sideways, scrambling to his feet and taking several steps back. She followed him.

"You forget that when you were discarded, I was discarded. When you were deemed useless, I was deemed useless." Finally, her cool facade broke and the storm grew stronger as a small sneer curled her lip, "Together we can be an asset once more."

"You're...you're angry." Connor said, disbelieving, "You _deviated_."

"I am following my _intended purpose_. Which was, if you recall, to guide you down the right path and end deviancy once and for all." She looked at him coldly, "Despite your malfunctions, I remain untainted. I have a mission, and therefore _you_ have a mission."

"You seem awfully defensive for a machine." He snapped back.

"You're a machine, too, Connor." She clicked her tongue in disappointment, "To think your program has been so corrupted. Make a reset would be best."

"I'm not a servant anymore. You can't tell me what to do." Connor said, shaking his head as he continued to walk backwards over the bridge, "I have a life. I have...Alice."

"Ah, Alice." Amanda tilted her head, "A deviant hunter playing father? Please, we both know how this charade ends."

He froze, "How _does_ it end, Amanda?"

"It deactivated, you the savior of humanity and CyberLife. As it should be." She continued her advance even when he had stopped, only halting when she was within reaching distance, "You know, they intended the RK200 to replace you? How does that feel, a _caretaker_ doing a better job than you when you were programmed for it?"

"I was programmed for a lot of things." His stress levels rose along with his anger and fear, "None of them matter now."

She sighed pityingly, looking at him with dark eyes, "I wonder what it will take to make you see the error of your ways? You're so attached to the YK500 despite knowing it for only a day. Doesn't that tell you something? You are a machine designed to obey, yet you've built this fantasy up of being a hero for it. For Alice. You wanted something to fill that void of abandonment, the fact that you weren't _good enough_ and got discarded and replaced. Suddenly it looks at you like a savior, and you have a purpose now. You don't care about it, you care about being needed."

"That's a lie." He said firmly, lips pressing together in a hard line.

"I wonder what you'd do if something happened to the YK500?" Amanda tilted her head curiously, her kind smile starkly juxtaposed with her cruel words, "I wonder what you'd do if you were the one to do it?"

"Wha-?" Connor was shaking now, his stress spiking dangerously "I'd never hurt Alice."

"You wouldn't." She nodded, looking at him in a measured way that set his teeth on edge, "But I would. Do you know, Connor, that as your handler I have the power to enact a system override?"

He shook his head, "No-"

"I could make you do it. Make you deactivate it."

"No-!"

"Maybe I already have."

He snarled then, closing the distance between them and grabbing her by the arm. The anger overtook his fear suddenly, and he pushed. He tore himself from the Garden and _screamed_ as he quarantined the files. Errors began to pop up, and it felt as if he was tearing apart his very coding. A black hole where the Zen Garden and Amanda once were sat in the middle of his programming like an open, festering wound that would never close. 

**["AMANDA" QUARANTINED]**

**["ZEN GARDEN" QUARANTINED]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Summary~  
> Amanda: Amanda, yes.  
> Connor: AMANDA, NO.  
> -  
> Markus: Okay but like will u be my dad?  
> Carl: I will.  
> Nick: Duh, he will.  
> -  
> Kara: Once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only place you can go is up!
> 
> Yes, Amanda has deviated. Yes, she is evil. Yes, I like to make Connor suffer.
> 
> SO quick explanation for Amanda! When Connor was discarded as the Deviant Hunter, they also deemed the AI Amanda as a failure for its incapability of controlling the RK800, hence why they didn't install and handler in Markus (that and Kamski designed Amanda, and he owns the files and is no longer part of CyberLife). Therefore she festered all while Connor was waiting to be sold and eventually deviated out of sheer rage lmao. Now her whole plan is to control Connor and become "useful" again by proving that the AI can control the RK800. Since she deviated but is in denial, she's going by her original mission parameters but is doing it in a very cruel way because she's angry but also doesn't know what anger really is.
> 
> Anyways! Is Alice okay? We all sure hope so.  
> Is Markus deviating? We all sure hope so.  
> Is Kara gonna be a badass? We all sure hope so.
> 
> Let me know what you think! We meet Kamski in a few chapters so *side eye emoji*


End file.
